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COMMEECE  OF  THE  PEAIEIES 

OR   THE 

DURING 
EIGHT  EXPEDITIONS  ACROSS 

THE  GEEAT  WESTERN  PRAIRIES, 

AND 

A    RESIDENCE    OF    NEARLY    NINE    YEARS 

IN 

NORTHERN  MEXICO. 

Sllttstvateb  xaiti)  Maps  anb  ffittgrciDinss, 
BY  JOSIAH  GREGG. 

^  IN    TWO    VOLUMES. 

VOL.  I. 
FIFTH    EDITION. 

PHILADELPHIA: 
J.  W.  MOORE,  193  CHESTNUT    STREET. 

1855. 


B,aicioftUbf«y. 


PREFACE. 


In  adding  another  to  the  list  of  works  which  hiiV^e  al» 
ready  been  published,  appearing  to  bear  more  or  less  directly 
upon  the  subject  matter  of  these  volumes,  I  an:  aware  that 
my  labors  make  their  appeal  to  the  public  under  serious 
disadvantages.  Topics  which  have  occupied  the  pens  of 
Irving  and  Murray  and  Hoffman,  and  more  recently,  of 
Kendall,  the  graphic  historiographer  of  the  "  Texan  Santa 
Fe  Expedition,"  may  fairly  be  supposed  to  have  been  so 
entirely  exhausted,  that  the  entrance  of  a  new  writer  in 
the  lists,  whose  name  is  wholly  unknown  to  the  republic 
of  letters,  and  whose  pretensions  are  so  humble  as  mine, 
may  be  looked  upon  as  an  act  of  literary  hardihood,  for 
which  there  was  neither  occasion  nor  excuse.  In  view  of 
this  '  foregone  conclusion,'  I  trust  I  may  be  pardoned  for 
prefacing  my  literary  offering  with  a  few  words  in  its  justi- 
fication,— which  will  afford  me  an  occasion  to  explain  the 
circumstances  that  first  led  to  my  acquaintance  with  life 
upon  the  Prairies  and  in  Northern  Mexico. 

For  some  months  preceding  the  year  1831,  my  health 
had  been  gradually  declining  under  a  complication  of 
1* 


VI  PREFACE. 

chronic  diseases,  which  defied  every  plan  of  treatment 
that  the  sagacity  and  science  of  my  medical  friends  could 
devise.  This  morbid  condition  of  my  system,  which  ori- 
ginated in  the  familiar  miseries  of  dyspepsia  and  its  kindred 
infirmities,  had  finally  reduced  me  to  such  a  state,  that,  for 
nearly  a  twelvemonth,  I  was  not  only  disqualified  for  any 
systematic  industry,  but  so  debilitated  as  rarely  to  be  able 
to  extend  my  walks  beyond  the  narrow  precincts  of  my 
chamber.  In  this  hopeless  condition,  my  physicians  ad- 
vised me  to  take  a  trip  across  the  Prairies,  and,  in  the 
change  of  air  and  habits  which  such  an  adventure  would 
involve,  to  seek  that  health  which  their  science  had  failed 
to  bestow.  I  accepted  their  suggestion,  and,  without  hesi- 
tation, proceeded  at  once  to  make  the  necessary  preparations 
for  joining  one  of  those  spring  Caravans  which  were  annu- 
ally starting  from  the  United  States,  for  Santa  Fe. 

The  effects  of  this  journey  were  in  the  first  place  to 
re-establish  my  health,  and,  in  the  second,  to  beget  a  pas- 
sion for  Prairie  life  which  I  never  expect  to  survive.  At 
the  conclusion  of  the  season  which  followed  my  first  trip,  I 
became  interested  as  a  proprietor  in  the  Santa  Fe  Trade, 
and  continued  to  be  so,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  for  the 
eight  succeeding  years.  During  the  whole  of  the  above 
periods  I  crossed  the  Prairies  eight  different  times  ;  and, 
with  the  exception  of  the  time  thus  spent  in  travelling  to 
aiid  fro,  the  greater  part  of  the  nine  years  of  which  I  speak, 
were  passed  in  Northern  Mexico. 

Having  been  actively  engaged  and  largely  interested  in 
the  conamerce  of  that  country  and  across  the  Prairies, 
for  so  long  a  period,  I  feel  that  I  have  at  least  had  oppor- 


PREFACE.  VU 

tunities  for  observation,  upon  the  subjects  of  which  I  have 
ventured  to  treat,  superior  to  those  enjoyed  by  any  writ- 
ers who  have  preceded  me.  But  not  even  an  attempt  has 
before  been  made  to  present  any  full  account  of  the  origin 
of  the  Santa  Fe  Trade  and  modes  of  conducting  it ;  nor  of 
the  early  history  and  present  condition  of  the  people  of 
New  Mexico ;  nor  of  the  Indian  tribes  by  which  the  wild 
and  unreclaimed  regions  of  that  department  are  inhabited. 
1  think  I  may  also  assure  my  readers  that  most  of  the  facts 
presented  in  my  sketch  of  the  natural  history  of  the  Prai- 
ries, and  of  the  Indian  tribes  who  inhabit  them,  are  now 
published  for  the  first  time.  As  I  have  not  sought  to  make 
a  treatise  upon  these  subjects,  I  have  not  felt  compelled, 
for  the  purpose  of  giving  my  papers  symmetry  and  com- 
pleteness, to  enter  to  any  extent  upon  grounds  which  have 
already  been  occupied  by  other  travellers ;  but  have  con- 
tented myself  with  presenting  such  matters  and  observa- 
tions as  I  thought  least  likely  to  have  come  before  under 
the  notice  of  my  readers. 

I  am  perfectly  sensible,  however,  that,  in  the  selection 
of  matter,  and  in  the  execution  of  my  work,  it  is  very 
far  from  being  what  it  should  be,  and  what,  in  more  capable 
hands,  it  might  have  been.  I  only  trust,  that,  with  all  its 
imperfections,  it  may  be  found  to  contain  some  new  and  not 
unimportant  facts,  which  may  be  thought,  in  some  measure, 
to  justify  my  appearance  for  once  in  the  capacity  of  a  book- 
maker ;  for  which  vocation,  in  all  other  respects,  I  am  free 
to  confess  myself  very  poorly  qualified. 

This  work  has  been  prepared  chiefly  from  a  journal 
which  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  keeping  from  my  youth 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

upward,  and  in  which  I  was  careful  to  preserve  memoran- 
da of  my  observations  while  engaged  in  the  Santa  ¥6 
Trade, — though  without  the  remotest  intention  of  ever  ap- 
propriating them  to  the  present  purpose.  In  addition,  how- 
ever, I  have  embraced  every  opportunity  of  procuring  au- 
thentic information  through  others,  upon  such  matters  as 
were  beyond  my  own  sphere  of  observation.  From  mate- 
rials thus  collected  I  have  received  much  assistance  in  the 
preparation  of  the  chapters  from  the  sixth  to  the  fifteenth 
inclusive,  of  the  first  volume,  which  are  chiefly  devoted  to 
the  early  history  of  New  Mexico,  and  the  manners,  cus- 
toms and  institutions  of  its  people.  For  favors  thus  con- 
ferred, I  beg  in  particular  to  make  my  acknowledgments 
to  Elisha  Stanley,  Esq.,  and  Doctors  Samuel  B.  Hobbs 
and  David  Waldo,  whose  names  have  been  long  and  fa- 
vorably associated  with  the  Santa  Fe  Trade. 

Though  myself  cradled  and  educated  upon  the  Indian 
border,  and  familiar  with  the  Indian  character  from  my 
infancy,  I  am  yet  greatly  indebted,  for  information  upon 
that  subject,  to  many  intelligent  Indian  traders,  and  others 
resident  upon  our  border,  with  whose  ample  experience  1 
have  been  frequently  favored. 

Yet,  while  I  recognize  my  indebtedness  to  others,  I  feel 
bound,  in  self-defence,  to  reclaim  in  a  single  case,  at  least, 
the  waifs  of  my  own  pen,  which  have  been  dignified  with 
a  place  in  the  pages  of  a  cotemporary  writer.  During  the 
years  1841  and  1842,  I  contributed  a  number  of  letters 
upon  the  history  and  condition  of  the  Santa  Fe  Trade,  etc., 
to  the  Galveston  "  Daily  Advertiser"  and  the  "  Arkansas 
Intelligencer,"  under  the  signatures  of  "J.  G."  and  '^G.," 


PREFACE  IX 

portions  of  which  I  have  had  occasion  to  insert  in  the 
present  volumes.  In  Captain  Marry  at 's  recent  work,  en- 
titled "  Monsieur  Violet,"  I  was  not  a  little  annoyed 
(when  I  presume  I  ought  to  have  been  flattered)  to  find 
large  portions  of  this  correspondence  copied,  much  of  it 
verbatim,  without  the  slightest  intimation  or  acknowledg- 
ment whatever,  of  the  source  from  whence  they  were  pro- 
cured. The  public  are  already  so  familiar  with  the  long 
series  of  literary  larcenies  of  which  that  famous  work  was 
the  product,  that  I  should  not  have  presumed  to  empha- 
size my  own  grievance  at  all  here,  but  that  the  appearance 
of  the  same  material,  frequently  in  the  same  words,  in  these 
volumes,  might,  unless  accompanied  by  some  explana- 
tion, expose  me  to  a  charge  of  plagiarism  myself,  among 
those  who  may  never  have  seen  my  original  letters,  or 
who  are  not  yet  aware  that  "  Monsieur  Violet"  was  an 
offering  which  had  evidently  been  intended  for  the  altar  of 
Mercury  rather  than  of  Minerva. 

In  my  historical  sketches  of  New  Mexico,  it  might  have 
been  naturally  expected  that  some  notice  would  be  taken 
of  the  Texan  Santa  Fe  Expedition  of  1841,  the  events  of 
which  are  so  closely  connected  with  the  history  of  that 
country.  I  declined,  nowever,  to  enter  upon  the  topic ; 
for  I  considered  that  none  who  had  seen  Mr.  Kendall's  ac- 
count of  that  ill-fated  enterprise,  would  have  any  induce- 
ment to  consult  these  pages  upon  the  subject ;  and  for 
those  who  had  not,  I  felt  sure  the  best  thing  I  could  do,  was 
to  direct  their  attention  at  once  to  its  attractive  pages. 

The  maps  which  accompany  the  present  work  will  be 
found,  I  believe,  substantially  correct ;  or  more  so,  at  least, 


X  PREFACE. 

than  any  others,  of  those  regions,  which  have  been  pub- 
lished. They  have  been  prepared,  for  the  most  part, 
from  personal  observations.  Those  portions  of  the  country 
which  I  have  not  been  able  to  observe  myself,  have  chiefly 
been  laid  down  from  manuscript  maps  kindly  furnished 
me  by  experienced  and  reliable  traders  and  trappers,  and 
also  from  the  maps  prepared  under  the  supervision  of 
United  States  surveyors. 

The  arrangement  I  have  adopted  seems  to  require  a  word 
of  explanation.  That  the  reader  may  the  better  understand 
the  frequent  notices,  in  the  course  of  my  personal  narrative, 
of  the  Santa  Fe  Trade,  the  first  chapter  has  been  devoted 
to  the  development  of  its  early  history.  And,  though  the 
results  of  my  observations  in  Northern  Mexico  and  upon 
the  Prairies,  as  well  as  on  the  border,  are  sometimes  inter- 
spersed through  the  narrative,  I  have,  to  a  great  degree, 
digested  and  arranged  them  into  distinct  chapters,  occupy- 
ing from  the  sixth  to  the  fifteenth  inclusive,  of  the  first 
volume,  and  the  seven  last  chapters,  of  the  second.  This 
plan  was  resorted  to  with  a  view  of  giving  greater  com- 
pactness to  the  work,  and  relieving  the  journal,  as  far  as 
possible,  from  cumbrous  details  and  needless  repetitions. 

J.G. 

New  York,  June  12, 1844. 


CONTENTS   OF  VOL.   I. 


CHAPTER  I. 


Pag« 


Origin  and  progressive  Development  of  the  Santa  Fe  Trade 
— Captain  Pike's  Narrative — Parsley — La  Lande — Expe- 
dition of  McKnight  and  others — Glenn — Becknell — Coo- 
per— Sufferings  of  Captain  Becknell  and  his  Companions 
— First  Introduction  of  wheeled  Vehicles — Colonel  Mar- 
maduke — Hostility  of  the  Indians^ — Recriminations — In- 
dian Ethics — Increase  of  Outrages — Major  Riley's  Escort 
— Annoyed  by  the  Indians — Government  Protection — 
Composition  of  a  Caravan,  .  .  .  17 

CHAPTER  II. 

Head  Ctuarters  of  the  Santa  Fe  Trade — Independence  and 
its  Locale — A  Prairie  Trip  an  excellent  Remedy  for 
chronic  Diseases — Supplies  for  the  Journey — Wagons, 
Mules  and  Oxen — Art  of  Loading  Wagons — Romancing 
Propensity  of  Travellers — The  Departure — Storms  and 
Wagon-covers — Cluagmires — Tricks  of  marauding  In- 
dians— Council  Grove — Fancy  versus  Reality — Election- 
eering on  the  Prairies  —  The  Organization  —  Amateur 
Travellers  and  Loafers — Duties  of  the  Watch — Costumes 
and  Equipment  of  the  Party — Timbers  for  the  Journey,       32 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  *  Catch  up ' — Breaking  up  of  the  Encampment — Per- 
versity of  Mules — Under  Way — The  Diamond  Spring — 
Eccentricities  of  Oxen — First  Glance  of  the  Antelope — 
Buffalo  Herds  and  Prairie  Novices — A  John  Gilpin  Race 

,  — Culinary  Preparations — A  Buffalo  Feast— Appetite  of 


Xrt  GONTENTi. 


Pag« 


Prairie  Travellers — Troubles  in  Fording  Streams — Fresh 
Alarms  and  their  Causes — A  Wolfish  Frolic — Arkansas 
River — Pleasing  Scenery — Character  of  the  Country — Ex- 
traordinary Surgical  Operation — The  *  Pawnee  Rock ' — 
Salutary  Effects  of  Alarms — New  Order  of  March — Prai- 
rie Encampment  and  *  Upholstery' — Hoppling  and  Teth- 
ering of  the  *  Stock ' — Crossing  the  Arkansas — Great  Bat- 
tle with  Rattlesnakes — A  Mustang  Colt  and  a  Mule 
Fracas — *  The  Caches  ' — Their  Origin,  and  Signification 
of  the  Term,  .....  60 

CHAPTER  IV. 

A  Desert  Plain — Preparation  for  a  *  Water-Scrape  * — Acci- 
dent to  a  French  Doctor — Upsetting  of  a  Wagon  and  its 
Consequences  —A  Party  of  Sioux  Warriors — The  first 
real  Alarm — Confusion  in  the  Camp — Friendly  Demon- 
strations of  the  Indians — The  Pipe  of  Peace — Squaws 
and  Papooses — An  Extemporary  Village — Lose  our  Track 
— Search  after  the  Lost  River — Horrible  Prospective— 
The  Cimarron  Found  at  last — A  Night  of  Alarms — In- 
dian Serenade  and  Thieving — Indian  Diplomacy — Hail- 
stones and  Hurricanes — Position  of  the  Captain  of  a 
Caravan — His  Troubles,  his  Powers  and  Want  of  Powers 
— More  Indians — Hostile  Encounter — Results  of  the  Skir- 
mish— The  '  Battle-Ground' — Col.  Vizcarra  and  the  Gros 
Ventres,         ......  70 

CHAPTER  V. 

A  Beautiful  Ravine — '  Runners'  Starting  for  Santa  Fd— 
Fourth  of  July  on  the  Prairies — The  Cibolero  or  Buffalo- 
hunter — Mournful  News  of  Captain  Sublette's  Company 
— Murder  of  Captain  Smith  and  another  of  the  Party  by 
the  Indians — Carelessness  and  Risks  of  Hunters — Cap- 
tain Sublette's  Peril — Character  and  Pursuits  of  the  Ci- 
boleros — The  Art  of  Curing  Meat — Purity  of  the  Atmos- 
phere—  The  'Round  Mound'  —  The  Mirage  or  False 
Ponds — Philosophy  thereof— Extensive  and  Interesting 
View — Exaggerated  Accounts  by  Travellers  of  the  Buf- 
falo of  the  Prairies — Their  Decrease — A  *  Stampede' — 
Wagon  Repairing — Rio  Colorado  or  Canadian  River — 
Meeting  between  old  Friends — Mexican  Escort — Disor- 
ganizing of  the  Caravan — Dreadful  Thunder-storm — 
First  Symptoms  of  Civilization — San  Miguel — Arrival  at 
Santa  Fe — Entry  of  the  Caravan — First  Hours  of  Recrea- 
tion— Interpreters  and  Custom-house  Arrangements — A 
Glance  at  the  Trade,  etc.,     ....  87 


CONTENTS  1381 

""^  CHAPTER  VI. 

Sketches  of  the  Early  History  of  Santa  Fe — First  Explora- 
tions— Why  called  New  Mexico — Memorial  of  Oiiate — 
His  Colony — Captain  Leyva's  prior  Settlement — Singular 
Stipulations  of  Oiiate — Incentives  presented  by  the  Crown 
to  Colonizers— Enormities  of  Spanish  Conquerors — Pro- 
gress of  the  new  Colony — Cruel  Labors  of  the  Aborigi- 
nes in  the  Mines — Revolt  of  the  Indians  in  1680 — Mas- 
sacre of  the  Spaniards — Santa  Fe  Besieged — Battles — 
Remaining  Spanish  Population  finally  evacuate  the  Pro- 
vince— Paso  del  Norte — luhuraan  Murder  of  a  Spanish 
Priest — Final  Recovery  of  the  Country — Insurrection  of 
1837 — A  Prophecy — Shocking  Massacre  of  the  Governor 
and  other  distinguished  Characters — American  Mer- 
chants, and  Neglect  of  our  Government — Governor  Ar- 
mijo:  his  Intrigues  and  Success — Second  Gathering  of 
Insurgents  and  their  final  Defeat,      .  .  .  115 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Greographical  Position  of  New  Mexico — Absence  of  naviga- 
ble Streams — The  Rio  del  Norte — Romantic  Chasm — 
Story  of  a  sunken  River — Mr.  Stanley's  Excursion  to  a 
famous  Lake— Santa  Fe  and  its  Localities — El  Valle  de 
Taos  and  its  Fertility — Soil  of  New  Mexico — The  first 
Settler  at  Taos  and  his  Contract  with  the  Indians— Salu- 
brity and  Pleasantness  of  the  Climate  of  New  Mexico — 
Population — State  of  Agriculture — Staple  Productions  of 
the  Country — Corn-fields  and  Fences — Irrigation  and 
Acequias — Tortillas  and  Tortilleras — Atole^  Frijoles  and 
Chile — Singular  Custom — Culinary  and  Table  Affairs — 
Flax  and  Potato  indigenous — Tobacco  and  Punche — 
Fruits — Peculiar  Mode  of  cultivating  the  Grape — Forest 
Growths — Pifton  and  Mezquite — Mountain  Cottonwood — 
Palmilla  or  Soap-plant — Pasturage,  .  .  137 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Mines  of  New  Mexico — Supposed  Concealment  of  them 
by  the  Indians — Indian  Superstition  and  Cozenage — Ru- 
ins of  La  Gran  Quivira — Old  Mines — Placeres  or  Mines 
of  Gold  Dust — Speculative  Theories — Mode  of  Working 
the  Placeres — Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Miners — Ar- 
bitrary Restrictions  of  the  Mexican  Government  upon 
Foreigners — Persecution  of  a  Gachupin — Disastrous  Ef- 
feet  of  official  Interference  upon  the  Mining  Interest — 
Disregard  of  American  Rights  and  of  the  U.  States  Gov- 
2 


3riV  CONTENTS. 

eminent  —  Gambucinos  and  their  System  —  Gold  found 
throughout  New  Mexico — Silver  Mines — Copper,  Zinc 
and  Lead — Salitias  or  Salt  Lakes — Sulphurous  Springs 
— Gypsum,  and  Petrified  Trees,         .  .  .  162 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Indifference  on  the  Subject  of  Horse-breeding — Caballos  de 
Silla — Popularity  and  Usefulness  of  the  Mule — Mode  of 
harnessing  and  lading  Mules  for  a  Journey — Arrieros  and 
their  System  —  The  Mulera  or  Bell-mare  —  Surprising 
Feats  of  the  Muleteers  and  Vaqtteros — The  Lazo  and  its 
Uses — Ridiculous  Usages  of  the  Country  in  regard  to  the 
Ownership  of  Animals — Anecdote  of  a  Mexican  Colonel 
— The  Burro  or  domestic  Ass  and  its  Virtues — Shepherds 
and  their  Habits — The  Itinerant  Herds  of  the  Plains- 
Sagacity  of  the  Shepherd's  Dog— The  Sheep  Trade — De- 
struction of  Cattle  by  the  Indians — Philosophical  Notions 
of  the  Marauders — Excellent  Mutton — Goats  and  their 
Utility — Wild  Animals  and  their  Character — A  *Bear 
Scrape  ' — Wolves,  Panthers,  Wild  Birds  and  Reptiles— 
The  Honey-bee,  etc.,  ....  178 

CHAPTER  X. 

Condition  of  the  Arts  and  Sciences  in  New  Mexico — Neg- 
lect of  Education — Primary  Schools — Geographical  Ig- 
norance—  Female  Accomplishments — Imported  Refine- 
ments— Peculiarities  of  Language,  etc. — Condition  of  the 
Public  Press — State  of  Medical  Science — The  Mechani- 

'  cal  Arts— Carpentry  and  Cabinet  Work — State  of  Archi- 
tecture— Dwelling  Houses  and  their  Peculiarities — Rustic 
Furniture — Curiously  constructed  Vehicles  —  Manufac- 
ture of  Blankets — Other  Fabrics — Want  of  Machinery,     197 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Style  of  Dress  in  New  Mexico — Riding-dress  of  the  Cabal- 
lero — Horse  Trappings — The  Rebozo — Passion  for  Jew- 
elry—Apparel of  the  Female  Peasantry — *  Wheeled  Ta- 
rantulas * — General  Appearance  of  the  People — Tawny 
Complexion — Singular  Mode  of  Painting  the  Human 
Face— Striking  Traits  of  Character— Alms-giving— Beg- 
gars and  their  Tricks — Wonderful  Cure  of  Paralysis — 
Lack  of  Arms  and  Officers— Trai-ts  of  Boldness  among 
the  Yeomanry — Politeness  and  Suavity  of  the  Mexicans 
— Remarks  of  Mr.  Poinsett — Peculiarities  observed  in. 
Epistolary  Intercourse — Salutations — La  Siesta^       .  ^^^    . 


CONTENTS.  XV 

CHAPTER  XIL 

Pafftt 
Government  of  New  Mexico — The  Administration  of  Jus- 
tice— Judicial  Corruption — Prejudices  against  Americans 
—Partiality  for  the  English — Anecdote  of  Governor  Ar- 
mijo  and  a  Trapper — Outrage  upon  an  American  Physi- 
cian— Violence  suffered  by  the  American  Consul  and 
others — Arbitrary  Impositions  upon  Foreigners — Contri- 
bucion  de  Guerra — The  Alcaldes  and  their  System — The 
Fueros — Mode  of  punishing  Delinquents  and  Criminals 
— Mexican  System  of  Slavery — Thieves  and  Thieveries 
Outrage  upon  an  American  Merchant — Gambling  and 
Gambling-houses — GaiAe  of  Monte — Anecdote  of  a  Lady 
of  Fashion — C^w^«— Cockpits — Correr  el  gallo — El  Co- 
leo — Fandangoes— C^^arr^^o5,  .  .  .  225 

CHAPTER  Xni.       * 

Military  Hierarchy  of  Mexico — Religious  Superstitions- 
Legend  of  Ncustra  Seltora  de  Guadalupe — A  profane  Ver- 
sion of  the  Story — A  curious  Plan  for  manufacturing 
Water — Saints  and  Images — Processions — How  lo  make 
it  Rain — The  Sacred  Host — Fanaticism  and  Murder — 
Honors  paid  to  a  Bishop — Servility  to  Priests — Attendance 
at  Public  Worship — New  Mexicans  in  Church — The  Ves- 
per Bells — Passion  Week  and  the  Ceremonies  pertaining 
thereto — Ridiculous  Penitencia — Whitewashing  of  Crimi- 
nals— Matrimonial  Connexions  and  Mode  of  Contracting 
them-^Restrictions  upon  Lovers— Onerous  Fees  paid  for 
Marriages  and  Burials — Anecdote  of  a  Ranchero — Ditto 
of  a  Servant  and  of  a  Widow,  illustrative  of  Priestly  Ex- 
tortion— Modes  of  Burial,  and  Burial  Ground  of  the 
Heretics,        ......  245 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  Pueblos — Their  Character  for  Sobriety,  Honesty,  and  In- 
dustry— Traditional  descent  from  Montezuma — Their 
Languages — Former  and  present  Population — The  Pueblo 
of  Pecos — Singular  Habits  of  that  ill-fated  Tribe — Curi- 
ous Tradition — Montezuma  and  the  Sun — Legend  of  a 
Serpent — Religion  and  government — Secret  Council — 
Laws  and  Customs — Excellent  Provisions  against  Demo- 
ralization— Primitive  Pastimes  of  the  Pueblos — Their 
Architecture — Singular  Structures  of  Taos,  and  other 
novel  Fortifications — Primitive  state  of  the  Arts  among 
the  Pueblos — Style  of  Dress,  Weapons,  etc. — Their  Diet 
— The  Giiayave.  .  .  .  .  .267 


XVI  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

The  wild  Tribes  of  New  Mexico — Speculative  Theories — 
Clavigero  and  ihe  Azteques — Pueblo  Bonito  and  other 
Ruins — Probable  Relationship  between  the  Azteques  and 
Tribes  of  New  Mexico — The  several  Nations  of  this 
Province — Navajoes  and  Azteques — Manufactures  of  the 
former— Their  Agriculture,  Religion,  etc. — Mexican  Cru- 
elty to  the  Indians  and  its  Consequences — Inroads  of  the 
Navajoes — Exploits  of  a  Mexican  Army — How  to  make 
a  Hole  in  a  powder-keg — The  Apaches  and  their  charac- 
ter— Their  Food — Novel  Mode  of  settling  Disputes — 
Range  of  their  marauding  Excursions — Indian  Traffic 
and  imbecile  Treaties — Devastation  of  the  Country — Chi- 
huahua Rodomontades — Juan  Jose,  a  celebrated  Apache 
Chief,  and  his  tragical  End,  etc. — Massacre  of  Ameri- 
cans in  Retaliation — A  tragical  Episode: — Proyecto  de 
Guerra  and  a  *  gallant'  Display — The  Yutas  and  their 
Hostilities — A  personal  Adventure  with  them,  but  no 
Bloodshed — The  Jicarillas.       ."  .  ...    262 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Incidents  of  a  Return  Trip  from  Santa  Fe — Calibre  of  our 
Party — Return  Caravans — Remittances — Death  of  Mr. 
Langham — Burial  in  the  Desert — A  sudden  Attack — 
Confusion  in  the  Camp — The  Pawnees — A  Wolfish  Es- 
cort— Scarcity  of  Buffalo — Unprofitable  Delusion — Arri- 
val— Table  of  Camping  Sites  and  Distances — Condition  . 
of  the  Town  of  Independence — The  Mormons — Their 
Dishonesty  and  Immorality — Their  high-handed  Meas- 
ures, and  a  Rising  of  the  People — A  fatal  Skirmish — A 
chivalrous  Parade  of  the  Citizens — Expulsion  of  the  Mor- 
mons— The  Meteoric  Shower,  and  Superstition,  etc. — 
Wanderings  and  Improprieties  of  the  *  Latter-day  Saints* 
— Gov.  Boggs*  Recipe — The  City  of  Nauvoo — Contem 
plated  Retribution  of  the  Mormons.  .  .  305 


COMMERCE  OF  THE  PRAIRIES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Origin  and  progressive  Development  of  the  Santa  Fe  Trade — 
Captain  Pike's  Narrative  —  Parsley — La  Lande  —  Expedi- 
tion of  McKnight  and  others — Glenn — Becknell — Cooper 
—  Sufferings  of  Captain  Becknell  and  his  Companions  — 
First  Introduction  of  wheeled  Vehicles — Colonel  Marma- 
duke  —  Hostility  of  the  Indians — Recriminations — Indian 
Ethics — Increase  of  Outrages — Major  Riley's  Escort — An- 
noyed by  the  Indians — Government  Protection — Composi- 
tion of  a  Caravan. 

The  overland  trade  between  the  United 
States  and  the  northern  provinces  of  Mexico, 
seems  to  have  had  no  very  definite  origin ; 
having  been  rather  the  result  of  accident 
than  of  any  organized  plan  of  commercial 
estabUshment  For  a  number  of  years  its 
importance  attracted  no  attention  whatever. 
From  Captain  Pike's  narrative  we  learn, 
that  one  James  Pursley,  after  much  wandering 
over  the  wild  and  then  unexplored  regions 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  finally  fell  in  with 
some  Indians  on  the  Platte  river,  near  its 
source  in  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  and  obtain- 
ing information  from  them  respecting  the  s^t 

2* 


18  ORIGIN    OF    THE 

tlements  of  New  Mexico,  he  set  out  in  compa- 
ny with  a  party  of  these  savages,  and  descend- 
ed, in  1805,  to  Santa  Fe,  where  he  remained 
for  several  years — ^perhaps  till  his  death.  It 
does  not  appear,  however,  that  he  took  with 
him  any  considerable  amount  of  merchandise. 

Although  Captain  Pike  speaks  of  Pursley 
as  the  first  Ameiican  that  ever  crossed  the  de- 
sert pleiins  into  the  Spanish  provinces,  it  is 
nevertheless  related  by  the  same  writer,  that, 
in  consequence  of  information  obtained  by  the 
trappers,  through  the  Indians,  relative  to  this 
isolated  province,  a  merchant  of  Kaskaslda, 
named  Morrison,  had  already  dispatched,  as 
early  as  1804,  a  French  Creole^  by  the  name  of 
La  Lande,  up  Platte  river,  with  directions  to. 
push  his  way  into  Santa  Fe,  if  the  passage  was 
at  all  practicable.  The  ingenious  emissary 
was  perfectly  successful  in  his  enterprise ;  but 
the  kind  and  generous  treatment  of  the  na- 
tives overcame  at  once  his  patriotism  and  his 
probity.  He  neither  returned  to  his  employer 
nor  accounted  for  the  proceeds  of  his  adven- 
ture. His  expansive  intellect  readily  conceiv- 
ed the  advantages  of  setting  up  in  business 
for  himself  upon  this  ^borrowed'  capital; 
which  he  accordingly  did,  and  remained  there, 
not  only  unmolested,  but  honored  and  es- 
teemed till  his  death,  which  occurred  some 
fifteen  or  twenty  years  afterward — cleaving  a 
large  family,  and  sufficient  property  to  entitle 
him  to  the  fame  of  rico  among  his  neighs 
bors. 

The  Santa  Fe  trade  attracted  very  httle  no* 


SANTA    FE    TRADE  19 

tice,  however,  until  the  return  of  Captain 
Pike,^  whose  exciting  descriptions  of  the  new 
El  Dorado  spread  like  wildfire  throughout  the 
western  country.  In  1812,  an  expedition  was 
fitted  out  under  the  auspices  of  Messrs.  Mc- 
Knight,  Beard,  Chambers,  and  several  others 
(in  all  about  a  dozen),  who,  following  the  di- 
rections of  Captain  Pike  across  the  dreary 
western  wilds,  finally  succeeded  in  reaching 


*  This  celebrated  officer,  who  was  afterwards  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  General,  and  died  in  the  achievement  of  the  glorious  vic- 
tory at  York,  Upper  Canada,  in  1813,  was  sent,  in  1806,  on  an 
exploring  expedition  up  the  Arkansas,  with  instructions  to  pass 
to  the  sources  of  Red  River,  for  which  those  of  the  Canadian  were 
then  mistaken.  Captain  Pike,  however,  even  passed  around  the 
head  of  the  latter ;  and,  crossing  the  mountain  with  an  almost  in- 
credible degree  of  peril  and  suffering,  he  descended  upon  the  Rio  del 
Norte  with  his  Httle  party,  then  but  fifteen,  in  number.  Believing 
himself  now  upon  Red  River,  within  the  then  assumed  bounds  of 
the  United  States,  he  erected  a  small  fortification  for  his  company, 
till  the  opening  of  the  spring  of  1807  should  enable  him  to  continue 
his  descent  to  Natchitoches.  As  he  was  within  the  Mexican  ter- 
ritory, however,  and  but  sixty  to  eighty  miles  from  the  northern 
settlements,  his  position  was  soon  discovered,  and  a  force  sent  out 
to  take  him  into  Santa  Fe,  which,  by  a  treacherous  manoeuvre, 
was  effected  without  opposition.  The  Spanish  officer  assured  him 
that  the  Governor,  learning  he  had  missed  his  way,  had  sent  animals 
and  an  escort  to  convey  his  men  and  baggage  to  a  navigable  point 
on  Red  River  (Rio  Colorado),  and  that  his  Excellency  desired  very 
much  to  see  him  at  Santa  Fe,  which  might  be  taken  on  their  way. 
As  soon,  however,  as  the  Governor  had  Captain  Pike  in  his  power, 
he  sent  him  with  his  men  to  the  Commandant  General  at  Chihua- 
hua, where  most  of  his  papers  were  seized,  and  he  and  his  party 
were  sent  under  an  escort,  via  San  Antonio  de  Bexar,  to  the  United 
States. 

The  narrative  of  Captain  Pike  gives  a  full  account  of  this  expe- 
dition, both  previous  and  subsequent  to  its  interruption  by  the  Spa- 
niards ;  but  as  this  work  is  now  rarely  met  with,  the  foregoing  note 
may  not  be  deemed  altogether  supererogatory.  Many  will  believe 
and  assert  to  the  present  day,  however,  that  this  expedition  had  some 
connection,  w^ith  the  famous  project  of  Aaron  Burr ;  yet  the  noble 
and  patriotic  character  of  the  officer  who  conducted  it,  will  not 
permit  us  to  countenance  such  an  aspersion. 


20  Mcknight  and  comrades.  ^ 

Santa  Fe  in  safety.  But  these  new  adventu- 
rers were  destined  to  experience  trials  and 
disappointments  of  which  they  had  formed 
no  conception.  Beheving  that  the  declara- 
tion of  Independence  by  Hidalgo,  in  1810, 
had  completely  removed  those  injurious  re- 
strictions which  had  hitherto  rendered  all 
foreign  intercourse,  except  by  special  permis- 
sion'from  the  Spanish  Government,  illegal, 
they  were  wholly  unprepared  to  encounter 
the  embarrassments  with  which  despotism 
and  tyranny  invariably  obstruct  the  path  of 
the  stranger.  They  were  doubtless  ignorant 
that  tiie  patriotic  chief  Hidalgo  had  already 
been  arrested  and  executed,  that  the  roy- 
alists had  once  more  regained  the  ascend- 
ency, and  that  all  foreigners,  but  particularly 
Americans,  were  now  viewed  with  unusual 
suspicion.  The  result  was  that  the  luckless 
traders,  immediately  upon  their  arrival,  were 
seized  as  spies,  their  goods  and  chattels  con- 
fiscated, and  themselves  thrown  into  the 
caiahozos  of  Chihuahua,  where  most  of  them 
were  kept  in  rigorous  confinement  for  the 
space  of  nine  years ;  when  the  repubhcan 
forces  under  Iturbide  getting  again  in  the 
ascendant,  McEmight  and  his  comrades 
were  finally  set  at  liberty.  It  is  said  that 
two  of  the  party  contrived,  early  in  1821, 
to  return  to  the  United  States  in  a  canoe, 
which  they  succeeded  in  forcing  down  the 
Canadian  fork  of  the  Arkansas.  The  stories 
promulgated  by  these  men  soon  induced 
others  to  launch  into  the  same  field  of  enter- 


CAPTAIN    BECKNELL.  21 

prise,  among  whom  was  a  merchant  of  Ohio, 
named  Glenn,  who,  at  the  time,  had  an  In- 
dian trading-house  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Verdigris  river.  Having  taken  the  circuitous 
route  up  the  Arkansas  towards  the  mountains, 
tliis  pioneer  trader  encountered  a  great  deal 
of  trouble  and  privation,  but  eventually  reach- 
ed Santa  Fe  with  his  httle  caravan,  before  the 
close  of  1821,  in  perfect  safety. 

During  the  same  year.  Captain  Becknell, 
of  Missouri,  with  four  trusty  companions, 
went  out  to  Santa  Fe  by  the  far  western 
prairie  route.  This  intrepid  httle  band  started 
from  the  vicinity  of  FrankUn,  with  the  origi-  f 
nal  purpose  of  trading  with  the  latan  or  Co-  ( 
manche  Indians ;  but  having  fallen  in  acci- 1 
dentally  with  a  party  of  Mexican  rangers, 
when  near  the  Mountains,  they  were  easily 
prevailed  upon  to  accompany  them  to  the 
new  emporium,  where,  notwithstanding  the 
trifling  amount  of  merchandise  they  were 
possessed  of,  they  realized  a  very  handsome 
profit.  The  fact  is,  that  up  to  this  date  New 
Mexico  had  derived  all  her  supphes  from 
the  Internal  Provinces  by  the  way  of  Vera 
Cruz ;  but  at  such  exorbitant  rates,  that  com- 
mon cahcoes,  and  even  bleached  and  brown 
domestic  goods,  sold  as  high  as  two  and  three 
dollars  per  vara  (or  Spanish  yard  of  thirty- 
three  inches).  Becknell  returned  to  the 
United  States  alone  the  succeeding  winter, 
leaving  the  rest  of  his  company  at  Santa  Fe. 

The  favorable  reports  brought  by  the  enter- 
prising Captain,  stimulated  others  to  embark 


^^ 


22  COLONEL    COOPER* 

in  the  trade ;  and  early  in  the  following  May, 
Colonel  Cooper  and  sons,  from  the  same 
neighborhood,  accompanied  by  several  others 
(their  whole  number  about  fifteen),  set  out 
with  four  or  five  thousand  dollars'  wortli  of 
goods,  which  they  transported  upon  pack- 
horses.  They  steered  directly  for  Taos, 
where  they  arrived  without  any  remarkable 
occurrence. 

The  next  effort  of  Captain  Becknell  was 
attended  with  very  difierent  success.  With 
a  company  amounting  to  near  thirty  men,  and 
perhaps  five  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  goods 
of  various  descriptions,  he  started  from  Mis- 
souri, about  a  month  after  Colonel  Cooper. 
Being  an  excellent  woodsman,  and  anxious 
to  avoid  the  circuitous  route  of  the  Upper 
Arkansas  comitry,  he  resolved  this  time,  after 
having  reached  that  point  on  the  Arkansas 
river  since  known  as  the  '  Caches,'  to  steer 
more  directly  for  Santa  Fe,  entertaining  httle 
or  no  suspicion  of  the  terrible  trials  which 
a\vaited  him  across  the  pathless  desert.  With 
no  other  guide  but  the  starry  heavens,  and,  it 
may  be,  a  pocket-compass,  the  party  embark- 
ed upon  the  arid  plains  which  extended  far 
and  wide  before  them  to  the  Cimarron  river. 

The  adventurous  band  pursued  their  for- 
ward course  mthout  being  able  to  procure 
any  water,  except  from  the  scanty  supply  they 
carried  in  their  canteens.  As  this  source  of 
rehef  was  completely  exhausted  after  two 
days'  march,  the  sufferings  of  both  men  and 
beasts  had  driven  them  almost  to  distraction. 


THRILLING    INCIDENT.  23 

The  forlorn  band  were  at  last  reduced  to  the 
cruel  necessity  of  killing  their  dogs,  and  cut- 
ting off  the  ears  of  their  mules,  in  the  vain 
hope  of  assuaging  their  burning  thirst  with 
the  hot  blood.  This  only  served  to  irritate 
the  parched  palates,  and  madden  the  senses 
of  the  sufferers.  Frantic  with  despair,  in 
prospect  of  the  horrible  death  which  now 
stared  them  in  the  face,  they  scattered  in 
every  direction  in  search  of  that  element 
which  they  had  left  beliind  them  in  such 
abundance,  but  without  success. 

Frequently  led  astray  by  the  deceptive 
glimmer  of  the  mirage,  or  false  ponds,  as 
those  treacherous  oases  of  the  desert  are  call- 
ed, and  not  suspecting  (as  was  really  the  case) 
that  they  had  already  arrived  near  the  banks 
of  the  Cimarron,  they  resolved  to  retrace  their 
steps  to  the  Arkansas.  But  they  now  were  no 
longer  equal  to  the  task,  and  would  undoubt- 
edly have  perished  in  those  arid  regions,  had 
not  a  buffalo,  fresh  from  the  river  s  side,  and 
with  a  stomach  distended  with  water,  been 
discovered  by  some  of  the  party,  just  as  the 
last  rays  of  hope  were  receduig  from  their 
vision.  The  hapless  intruder  was  immedi- 
ately dispatched,  and  an  invigorating  draught 
procured  from  its  stomach,  I  have  since 
heard  one  of  the  parties  to  that  expedition 
declare,  that  nothing  ever  passed  his  hps  which 
gave  him  such  exquisite  dehght  as  his  first 
draught  of  that  filthy  beverage. 

This  providential  rehef  enabled  some  of 
the  strongest  men  of  the  party  to  reach  the 


24  THE    FIRST   WAGONS. 

river,  where  they  filled  their  canteens,  and 
then  hurried  back  to  the  assistance  of  their 
conu*ades,  many  of  whom  they  found  pros- 
trate on  the  ground,  and  incapable  of  further 
exertion.  By  degrees,  however,  they  were 
all  enabled  to  resume  their  journey ;  and  fol- 
lowing the  course  of  the  Arkansas  for  several 
days,  thereby  avoiding  the  arid  regions  which 
had  occasioned  them  so  much  suffering,  they 
succeeded  in  reaching  Taos  (sixty  or  seventy 
miles  north  of  Santa  Fe)  without  further 
difficulty.  Although  travellers  have  since 
suffered  excessively  with  thirst  upon  the 
same  desert,  yet,  having  become  better  ac- 
quainted with  the  topography  of  the  country, 
no  other  equally  thrilling  incidents  have  sub- 
sequently transpired. 

It  is  from  this  period — the  year  1822 — ^that 
the  virtual  commencement  of  the  Santa  Fe 
Trade  may  be  dated.  The  next  remarkable 
era  in  its  history  is  the  first  attempt  to  intio- 
duce  wagons  in  these  expeditions.  Tliis  was 
made  in  1824  by  a  company  of  traders,  about 
eighty  in  number,  among  whom  were  several 
gentlemen  of  intelligence  from  Missouri,  who 
contributed,  by  their  superior  skUl  and  un- 
daunted energy,  to  render  the  enterprise  com- 
pletely successful.  A  portion  of  this  company 
employed  pack-mules :  among  the  rest  were 
owned  twenty-five  wheeled  vehicles,  of  which 
one  or  two  were  stout  road-wagons,  two  were 
carts,  and  the  rest  dearborn  carriages — ^the 
whole  conveying  some  $25,000  or  $30,000 
worth  of  merchandise.     Colonel  Marmaduke, 


EVENTFUL    ERA.  2^ 

the  present  Governor  of  the  State  of  Missouri, 
having  formed  one  of  the  party,  has  been 
pleased  to  place  his  diary  of  that  eventful 
journey  at  my  disposal ;  but  want  of  space 
necessarily  compels  me  to  pass  over  the  many 
interesting  and  exciting  incidents  which  it 
contains.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  caravan 
reached  Santa  Fe  with  much  less  difficulty 
than  must  have  been  anticipated  from  a  first 
experiment  with  wheeled  vehicles.  The 
route,  indeed,  appears  to  have  presented  fewer 
obstacles  than  any  ordinary  road  of  equal 
.ength  in  the  United  States. 

It  was  not  until  several  years  after  this  ex- 
periment, however,  that  adventurers  with 
large  capital  began  seriously  to  embark  in 
the  Santa  Fe  trade.  The  early  traders  having 
but  seldom  experienced  any  molestations 
from  the  IncUans,  generally  crossed  the  plains 
in  detached  bands,  each  individual  rarely 
carrying  more  than  two  or  three  hundred  dol- 
lars' worth  of  stock.  This  peaceful  season, 
however,  did  not  last  very  long;  and  it  is 
greatly  to  be  feared  that  the  traders  were  not 
always  innocent  of  having  instigated  the 
savage  hostiUties  that  ensued  in  after  years. 
Many  seemed  to  forget  the  wholesome  pre- 
cept, that  they  should  not  be  savages  them- 
selves because  they  dealt  with  savages.  In- 
stead of  cultivating  friendly  feelings  with 
those  few  who  remained  peaceful  and  honest, 
there  was  an  occasional  one  always  disposed 
to  kill,  even  in  cold  blood,  every  Indian  that 
fell  into  their  power,  merely  because  some  of 

3 


26  TRICKS    OF    THE    SAVAGES 

the  tribe  had  committed  some  outrage  eithei 
against  themselves  or  their  friends. 

Since  the  commencement  of  this  trade,  re- 
turning parties  have  performed  the  homeward 
journey  across  the  plains  with  the  proceeds  of 
their  enterprise,  partly  in  specie,  and  partly  in 
furs,  buffalo  rugs  and  animals.  Occasionally, 
these  straggUng  bands  would  be  set  upon  by 
marauding  Indians,  but  if  well  armed  and  of 
resolute  spirit,  they  found  very  httle  difficulty 
in  persuading  the  savages  to  let  them  pass 
unmolested ;  for,  as  Mr.  Storrs  very  justly  re- 
marks, in  his  representation  presented  by 
Colonel  Benton,  in  1825,  to  the  United  States 
V  Senate,  the  Indians  are  always  wilKng  to 
compromise  when  they  find  that  they  cannot 
rob  "without  losing  the  hves  of  their  warri- 
ors, which  they  hardly  ever  risk,  unless  for 
revenge  or  in  open  warfare." 

The  case  was  very  different  with  those  who 
through  carelessness  or  recklessness  ventured 
upon  the  wild  prairies  without  a  sufficient 
supply  of  arms.  A  story  is  told  of  a  small 
band  of  twelve  men,  who,  while  encamped 
on  the  Cimarron  river,  in  1826,  with  but  four 
serviceable  guns  bet^veen  them,  were  visited 
by  a  party  of  Indians  (beUeved  to  be  Arrapa- 
hoes),  who  made  at  first  strong  demonstrations 
of  friendship  and  good  will.  Observing  the 
defenceless  condition  of  the  traders,  they 
went  away,  but  soon  returned  about  thirty 
strong,  each  provided  with  a  lazo,  and  all  on 
fo'ot.  The  chief  then  began  by  informing  the 
Americans  that  his  men  were  tired  of  walk- 
ing, and  must  have  horses.     Thinking  it  folly 


TWO    TRADERS    KILLED.  27 

to  offer  any  resistance,  the  terrified  traders  told 
them  if  one  animal  apiece  would  satisfy  them, 
to  go  and  catch  them.  This  they  soon  did ; 
but  finding  their  requests  so  easily  complied 
with,  the  Indians  held  a  Httle  parley  together, 
which  resulted  in  a  new  demand  for  more — 
they  must  now  have  two  apiece.  "Well, 
catch  them !"  was  the  acquiescent  reply  of  the 
unfortunate  band — upon  which  the  savages 
mounted  those  they  had  already  secured,  and, 
swinging  their  lazos  over  their  heads,  plunged 
among  the  stock  with  a  furious  yell,  and 
drove  off'  the  entire  cabaUada  of  near  five  hun- 
dred head  of  horses,  mules  and  asses. 

The  fall  of  182S  proved  still  more  fatal  to 
the  traders  on  their  homeward  trip ;  for  by  this 
time  the  Indians  had  learned  to  form  a  cor- 
rect estimate  of  the  stock  with  which  the  re- 
turn companies  were  generally  provided. 
Two  young  men  named  McNees  and  Monroe, 
having  carelessly  lain  down  to  sleep  on  the 
banks  of  a  stream,  since  known  as  McNees's 
creek,  were  barbarously  shot,  with  their  own 
guns,  as  it  was  supposed,  in  very  sight  of  the 
caravan.  When  their  comrades  came  up,  they 
found  McNees  lifeless,  and  the  other  almost 
expiring.  In  this  state  the  latter  was  carried 
nearly  forty  miles  to  the  Cimarron  river, 
where  he  died,  and  was  buried  according  to 
the  custom  of  the  Prairies.^ 

*  ITiese  funerals  are  usually  performed  in  a  very  summary 
manner.  A  grave  is  dug  in  a  convenient  spot,  and  the  corpse, 
with  no  other  shroud  than  its  own  clothes,  and  only  a  blanket  for 
a  coffin,  is  consigned  to  the  earth.  .  The  grave  is  then  usually  filled 
tip  with  stones  or  poles,  as  a  safe-guard  against  tlie  voraci  )u» 
wolves  of  the  prairies. 


28  MASSACRE    OF    INDIANS. 

Just  as  the  funeral  ceremonies  were  about 
to  be  concluded,  six  or  seven  Indians  appear- 
ed on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Cimarron. 
Some  of  the  party  proposed  inviting  them  to 
a  parley,  while  the  rest,  burning  for  revenge, 
^\inced  a  desire  to  fire  upon  them  at  once. 
It  is  more  than  probable,  however,  that  the 
Indians  were  not  only  innocent  but  ignorant 
of  the  outrage  that  had  been  committed,  or 
thoy  would  hardly  have  ventured  to  approach 
the  caravan.  Being  quick  of  perception,  they 
very  soon  saw  the  belligerent  attitude  assum- 
ed by  some  of  the  company,  and  therefore 
wheeled  round  and  attempted  to  escape. 
One  shot  was  fired,  which  wounded  a  horse 
and  brought  the  Indian  to  the  ground,  when 
he  was  instantly  riddled  with  balls !  Almost 
simultaneously  another  discharge  of  several 
guns  followed,  by  which  all  the  rest  were 
either  killed  or  mortally  wounded,  except  one, 
who  escaped  to  bear  to  his  tribe  the  news  of 
their  dreadful  catastrophe ! 

These  wanton  cruelties  had  a  most  disas- 
trous effect  upon  the  prospects  of  the  trade ; 
for  the  exasperated  children  of  the  desert  be- 
came more  and  more  hostile  to  the-'pale  faces,' 
against  whom  they  continued  to  wage  a  cruel 
war  for  many  successive  years.  In  fact,  this 
same  party  suffered  very  severely  a  few  days 
afterwards.  They  were  pursued  by  the  en- 
raged comrades  of  the  slain  savages  to  the 
Arkansas  river,  where  they  were  roW^ed  of 
nearly  a  thousand  head  of  mules  and  horses. 
But  the  Lidians  were  not  yet  satisfied.     Hav- 


WHOLESALE    ROBBERIES.  29 

ing  beset  a  company  of  about  twenty  men, 
who  followed  shortly  after,  they  killed 
one  of  their  number,  and  subsequently 
took  from  them  all  the  animals  they  had  in 
their  possession.  The  unfortunate  band  were 
now  not  only  compelled  to  advance  on  foot, 
but  were  even  constrained  to  carry  nearly  a 
thousand  dollars  each  upon  their  backs  to  the 
Arkansas  river,  where  it  was  cached  (concealed 
in  the  ground)  till  a  conveyance  was  procur- 
ed to  transfer  it  to  the  United  States. 

Such  repeated  and  daring  outrages  induced 
the  traders  to  petition  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment for  an  escort  of  United  States  troops. 
The  request  having  been  gTanted,  Major  lliley, 
with  three  companies  of  infantry  and  one  of 
riflemen,  was  ordered  to  accompany  the  cara- 
van which  left  in  the  spring  of  1829.  The 
escort  stopped  at  Chouteau's  Island,  on 
the  Arkansas  river,  and  the  traders  thence 
pursued  their  journey  through  the  sand-hills 
beyond.  They  had  hardly  advanced  six  or 
seven  miles,  when  a  starthng  incident  occur- 
red which  made  them  wish  once  more  for  the 
company  of  the  gallant  Major  and  his  well- 
disciplined  troops.  A  vanguard  of  three  men, 
riding  a  few  hundred  yards  ahead,  had  just 
dismounted  for  the  purpose  of  satisfying  their 
thirst,  when  a  band  of  Kiawas,  one  of  the 
most  savage  tribes  that  infest  the  western 
prairies,  rushed  upon  them  from  the  immense 
hillocks  of  sand  which  lay  scattered  in  all  di- 
rections. The  three  men  sprang  upon  their 
animals,  but  two  only  who  had  horses  werQ 


30  MAJOR    RILEY. 

enabled  to  make  their  escape  to  the  wagons  ; 
the  third,  a  Mr.  Lamme,  who  was  unfortu- 
nately mounted  upon  a  mule,  was  overtaken, 
slain  and  scalped  before  any  one  could  come 
to  his  assistanca  Somewhat  alarmed  at  the 
boldness  of  the  Indians,  the  traders  dispatch- 
ed an  express  to  Major  Riley,  who  immedi- 
ately ordered  his  tents  to  be  struck ;  and  such 
was  the  rapidity  of  his  movements,  that  when 
he  appeared  before  the  anxious  caravan  every 
one  was  lost  in  astonishment  The  reinforce- 
ment having  arrived  in  the  night,  the  enemy 
could  have  obtained  no  knowledge  of  the 
fact,  and  would  no  doubt  have  renewed  the 
attack  in  the  morning,  when  they  would  have 
received  a  wholesome  lesson  from  the  troops, 
had  not  the  reveille  been  sounded  through  mis- 
take, at  which  they  precipitately  retreated. 
The  escort  now  continued  with  the  company 
as  far  as  Sand  creek,  when,  perceiving  no  fur- 
ther signs  of  danger,  they  returned  to  the  Ar- 
kansas, to  await  the  return  of  the  caravan  in 
the  ensuing  fall. 

The  position  of  Major  Riley  on  the  Arkan- 
sas was  one  of  serious  and  continual  danger. 
Scarce  a  day  passed  without  his  being  sub- 
jected to  some  new  annoyance  from  preda- 
tory Indians.  The  latter  appeared,  mdeed, 
resolved  to  check  all  further  concourse  of  the 
whites  upon  the  Prairies ;  and  fearful  of  the 
terrible  extremes  to  which  their  excesses 
might  be  carried,  the  traders  continued  to 
unite  in  single  caravans  during  many  years 
afterwards,  for^he  sake  of  mutual  protection. 


SUBSEQUENT    ESCjORTS.  31 

This  escort  under  Major  Riley,  and  one  com- 
posed of  about  sixty  dragoons,  commanded 
by  Captain  Wharton,  in  1834,  constituted  the 
only  government  protection  ever  afforded  to  the 
Santa  Fe  trade,  until  1843,  when  large  escorts 
under  Captain  Cook  accompanied  two  diffe- 
rent caravans  as  far  as  the  Arkansas  river. 

Of  the  composition  and  organization  of 
these  trading  caravans,  I  shall  take  occasion 
to  speak,  from  my  own  experience,  in  the  fol- 
lowing chapters. 


CHAPTER  II 

Head  Cluarters  of  the  Santa  Fe  Trade — Independence  and  its 
Locale — A  Prairie  Trip  an  excellent  Remedy  for  Chronic 
Diseases — Supplies  for  the  Journey — Wagons,  Mules  and 
Oxen — Art  of  Loading  Wagons — Romancing  Propensity  of 
Travellers  —  The  Departure  —  Storms  and  Wagon-covers  — 
Cluagmires — Tricks  of  marauding  Indians — Council  Grove 
— Fancy  versiis  Reality — Electioneering  on  the  Prairies — The 
Organization — Amateur  Travellers  and  Loafers — Duties  of 
the  Watch — Costumes  and  Equipment  of  the  Party — Timbers 
for  the  Journey. 

People  who  reside  at  a  distance,  and  espe- 
cially at  the  North,  have  generally  considered 
St  Louis  as  the  emporium  of  the  Santa  Fe 
Trade ;  but  that  city,  in  truth,  has  never  been 
a  place  of  rendezvous,  nor  even  of  outfit,  ex- 
cept for  a  small  portion  of  the  traders  who 
have  started  from  its  immediate  vicinit}^  The 
town  of  Frankhn  on  the  Missouri  river,  over 
a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  further  to  the  west- 
ward, seems  truly  to  have  been  the  cradle  of 
our  trade ;  and,  in  conjunction  with  several 
neighboring  towns,  continued  for  many  years 
to  furnish  the  greater  number  of  these  adven- 
turous traders.  Even  subsequently  to  1831, 
many  wagons  have  been  fitted  out  and  start- 
ed from  this  interior  section.     But  ens  the  navi- 


TOWN    OF    INDEPENDENCE.  33 

gation  of  the  Missouri  river  had  considerably 
advanced  towards  the  year  1831,  and  the  ad- 
vantages of  some  point  of  debarkation  nearer 
the  western  frontier  were  very  evident,  where- 
by upwards  of  a  hundred  miles  of  trouble- 
some land-carriage,  over  unimproved  and 
often  miry  roads,  might  be  avoided,  the  new 
town  of  Independence,  but  twelve  miles  from 
the  Indian  border  and  two  or  three  south  of 
the  Missouri  river,  being  the  most  eligible 
point,  soon  began  to  take  the  lead  as  a  place 
of  debarkation,  outfit  and  departure,  which,  in 
spite  of  all  opposition,  it  has  ever  since  main- 
tained. It  is  to  this  beautiful  spot,  already 
grown  up  to  be  a  thriving  town,  that  the  prairie 
adventurer,  whether  in  search  of  wealth, 
health  or  amusement,  is  latterly  in  the  habit 
of  repairing,  about  the  first  of  May,  as  the 
caravans  usually  set  out  some  time  during  that 
month.  Here  they  purchase  their  provisions 
for  the  road,  and  many  of  their  mules,  oxen, 
and  even  some  of  then*  wagons — in  short, 
load  all  their  vehicles,  and  make  their  final 
preparations  for  a  long  journey  across  the 
prairie  wilderness. 

As  Independence  is  a  point  of  convenient 
access  (the  Missouri  river  being  navigable  at 
all  times  from  March  till  November),  it  has 
become  the  general  ^port  of  embarkation '  for 
every  part  of  the  great  western  and  northern 
*  prairie  ocean.'  Besides  the  Santa  Fe  cara- 
vans, most  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  traders 
and  trappers,  as  well  as  emigrants  to  Oregon, 
take  this  town  in  their  route.     Daring  the 


34  VALETUDINARIANS. 

season  of  departure,  therefore,  it  is  a  place  of 
much  bustle  and  active  business. 

Among  the  concourse  of  travellers  at  this 
*  starting  point,'  besides  traders  and  tourists,  a 
number  of  pale-faced  invaUds  are  generally 
to  be  met  with.  The  Prairies  have,  in  fact, 
become  very  celebrated  for  their  sanative 
effects — more  justly  so,  no  doubt,  than  the 
most  fashionable  watering-places  of  the  North. 
Most  chronic  diseases,  particularly  liver  com- 
plaints, dyspepsias,  and  similar  affections,  are 
often  radically  cured ;  owing,  no  doubt,  to  the 
pecuharities  of  diet,  and  the  regular  exercise 
incident  to  prairie  life,  as  well  as  to  the  purity 
of  the  atmosphere  of  those  elevated  unem- 
barrassed regions.  An  invaUd  myself,  I  can 
answer  for  the  efficacy  of  the  remedy,  at  least 
in  my  own  case.  Though,  like  other  valetudi- 
narians, I  was  disposed  to  provide  an  ample 
supply  of  such  commodities  as  I  deemed  ne- 
cessary for  my  comfort  and  health,  I  was  not 
long  upon  the  prairies  before  I  discovered  that 
most  of  such  extra  preparations  were  unne- 
cessary, or  at  least  quite  dispensable.  A  few 
knick-knacks,  as  a  httle  tea,  rice,  fruits,  crack- 
ers, etc.,  suffice  very  well  for  the  first  fortnight, 
after  which  the  invalid  is  generally  able  to 
take  the  fare  of  the  hunter  and  teamster. 
Though  I  set  out  myself  in  a  carnage,  be- 
fore the  close  of  the  first  week  I  saddled  my 
pony;  and  when  we  reached  the  buffalo 
range,  I  was  not  only  as  eager  for  the  chase  as 
the  sturdiest  of  my  companions,  but  I  enjoy- 
ed fax  more  exquisitely  my  share  of  the  buf- 


SUPPLIES    FOR   THE    ROAD.  36 

falo,  than  all  the  delicacies  which  were  ever  de- 
vised to  provoke  the  most  fastidious  appetite. 

The  ordinary  supplies  for  each  man's  con- 
sumption during  the  journey,  are  about  fifty 
pounds  of  flour,  as  many  more  of  bacon,  ten 
of  coffee  and  twenty  of  sugar,  and  a  httle 
salt.  Beans,  crackers,  and  trifles  of  that  de- 
scription, are  comfortable  appendages,  but  be- 
ing looked  upon  as  dispensable  luxuries,  are 
seldom  to  be  found  in  any  of  the  stores  on  the 
road.  The  buffalo  is  chiefly  depended  upon 
for  fresh  meat,  and  great  is  the  joy  of  the  tra- 
veller when  that  noble  animal  first  appears  in 
sight. 

The  wagons  now  most  in  use  upon  the 
Prairies  are  manufactured  in  Pittsburg ;  and 
are  usually  drawn  by  eight  mules  or  the  same 
number  of  oxen.  Of  late  years,  however,  I 
have  seen  nmch  larger  vehicles  employed, 
with  ten  or  twelve  mules  harnessed  to  each, 
and  a  cargo  of  goods  of  about  five  thousand 
pounds  in  weight.  At  an  early  period  the 
horse  was  more  frequently  in  use,  as  mules 
were  not  found  in  great  abundance ;  but  as 
soon  as  the  means  for  procuring  these 
animals  increased,  the  horse  was  gradu- 
ally and  finally  discarded,  except  occasion- 
g.lly  for  riding  and  the  chase. 

Oxen  having  been  employed  by  Major 
Riley  for  the  baggage  wagons  of  the  escort 
which  was  furnished  the  caravan  of  1829, 
they  were  found,  to  the  surprise  of  the  traders, 
to  perform  almost  equal  to  mules.  Since  that 
time,  upon  an  average  about  half  of  the  wa- 


36  OXEN   AGAINST   MULES. 

gons  in  these  expeditions  have  been  drawn 
by  oxen.  They  possess  many  advantages, 
such  as  pulUng  heavier  loads  than  the  same 
number  of  mules,  particularly  through  muddy 
oi  sandy  places ;  but  they  generally  fall  off  in 
strength  as  the  prairie  grass  becomes  drier  and 
shorter,  and  often  arrive  at  their  destination  in 
a  most  shocking  phght  In  this  condition  I 
have  seen  them  sacrificed  at  Santa  Fe  for  ten 
dollars  the  pair;  though  in  more  favorable 
seasons,  they  sometimes  remain  strong  enough 
to  be  driven  back  to  the  United  States  the 
same  fall.  Therefore,  although  the  original 
cost  of  a  team  of  mules  is  much  greater,  the 
loss  ultimately  sustained  by  them  is  usually 
less, — to  say  nothing  of  the  comfort  of  being 
able  to  travel  faster  and  more  at  ease.  The 
inferiority  of  oxen  as  regards  endurance  is 
partially  owing  to  the  tenderness  of  their 
feet ;  for  there  are  very  few  among  the  thou- 
sands who  have  travelled  on  the  Prairies  that 
ever  knew  how  to  shoe  them  properly.  Many 
have  resorted  to  the  curious  expedient  of 
shoeing  their  animals  with  ^  moccasins'  made 
of  raw  bufialo-skin,  which  does  remarkably 
well  as  long  as  the  weather  remains  dry ;  but 
when  wet,  they  are  soon  worn  through. 
Even  mules,  for  the  most  part,  perform  th^ 
entire  trip  wiihout  being  shod  at  all ;  though 
the  hoofs  often  become  very  smooth,  which 
frequently  renders  all  their  movements  on 
the  dry  grassy  surface  nearly  as  laborious  as 
if  they  were  treading  on  ice. 

The  supphes  being  at  length  procured,  and 


LOADING   AND    TRAINING.  37 

all    necessary    preliminaries     systematically 
gone  through,  the  trader  begins  the  difficult 
task  of  loading  his  wagons.  Those  who  under- 
stand their  business,  take  every  precaution  so 
to  stow  away  their  packages  that  no  jolting 
on  the  road  can  afterwards  disturb  the  order 
in    which   they   had    been   disposed.      The 
ingenuity  displayed  on  these  occasions  has 
frequently  been   such,   that   after   a  tedious 
journey  of  eight  hundred  miles,  the  goods 
have  been  found  to  have  sustained  much  less 
injury,  than  they  would  have  experienced  on 
a  turnpike-road,  or  from  the  ordinary  hand- 
Ung  of  property  upon  our  western  steam-boats. 
The  next  great  difficulty  the  traders  have  to 
encounter  is  in  training  those  animals  that 
have  never  before  been  worked,  which  is  fre- 
quently attended  by  an  immensity  of  trouble. 
There  is  nothing,  however,  in  the  mode  of 
harnessing  and  conducting  teams  in  prairie 
traveUing,  which  differs  materially  from  that 
practised  on  the  pubhc  highways  throughout 
the    States, — ^the   representations   of   certain 
travellers  to   the   contrary,   notwithstanding. 
From  the   amusing  descriptions   which   are 
sometimes  given  by  this  class  of  writers,  one 
would  be  apt  to  suppose  that  they  had  never 
seen  a  wagon  or  a  team  of  mules  before,  or 
that  they  had  just  emerged  for  the  first  time 
from  the  purlieu^of  a  large  city.     The  pro- 
pensity evinced  by  these  writers   for  giving 
an  air   of  romance  to  everj'^thing  they  have 
either  seen  or  heard,  would  seem  to  imply  a 
conviction  on  their  part,  that  no  statement  of 
4 


38  THE    DEPARTURE. 

unvarnished  facts  can  ever  be  stamped  with 
the  seal  of  the  world's  approbation — that  a 
work,  in  order  to  prove  permanently  attrac- 
tive, should  teem  with  absurdities  and  abound 
in  exaggerated  details.  How  far  such  an 
assumption  would  be  correct,  I  shall  not  pause 
to  inquire. 

At  last  all  are  fairly  launched  upon  the 
broad  prairie — ^the  miseries  of  preparation  are 
over — ^the  thousand  anxieties  occasioned  by 
wearisome  consultations  and  delays  are  felt 
no  more.  The  charioteer,  as  he  smacks  his 
whip,  feels  a  bounding  elasticity  of  soul  within 
him,  which  he  finds  it  impossible  to  restrain ; 
— even  the  mules  prick  up  their  ears  with  a 
pecuUarly  conceited  air,  as  if  in  anticipation 
of  that  change  of  scene  which  will  presently 
follow.  Harmony  and  good  feehng  prevail 
everywhere.  The  hilarious  song,  the  bon 
mot  and  the  witty  repartee,  go  round  in  quick 
succession  ;  and  before  people  have  had 
leisure  to  take  cognizance  of  the  fact,  the 
lively  village  of  Independence,  with  its  mul- 
titude of  associations,  is  already  lost  to  the 
eye. 

It  was  on  the  15th  of  May,  1831,  and  one 
of  the  brightest  and  most  lovely  of  all  the 
days  in  the  calendar,  that  our  httle  party  set 
out  from  Independence.  The  general  ren- 
dezvous at  Council  Grove  yas  our  immediate 
destination.  It  is  usual  for  the  traders  to 
travel  thus  far  in  detached  parties,  and  to  as- 
semble there  for  the  purpose  of  entering  into 
some  kind  of  organization,  for  mutual  securi- 


AN    OMINOUS    FORETASTE.  S9 

ty  and  defence  during  the  remainder  of  the 
journey.  It  was  from  thence  that  the  for- 
mation of  the  Caravan  was  to  be  dated,  and 
the  chief  interest  of  our  journey  to  com- 
mence :  therefore,  to  this  point  we  all  looked 
forward  with  great  anxiety.  The  interme- 
diate travel  was  marked  by  very  few  events 
of  any  interest  As  the  wagons  had  gone 
before  us,  and  we  were  riding  in  a  hght  car- 
riage, we  were  able  to  reach  the  Round 
Grove,  about  thirty-five  miles  distant,  on  the 
first  day,  where  we  joined  the  rear  division  of 
the  caravan,  comprising  about  thirty  wagons. 

On  the  following  day  we  had  a  foretaste  of 
those  protracted,  drizzling  spells  of  rain,  which, 
at  this  season  of  the  year,  so  much  infest  the 
frontier  prairies.  It  began  sprinkling  about 
dark,  and  continued  pouring  without  let  or 
hinderance  for  forty-eight  hours  in  succession ; 
and  as  the  rain  was  accompanied  by  a  heavy- 
north-wester,  and  our  camp  was  pitched  in 
the  open  prairie,  without  a  stick  of  available 
timber  within  a  mUe  of  us,  it  must  be  allowed 
that  the  whole  formed  a  prelude  anything 
but  flattering  to  valetudinarians.  For  my 
own  part,  finding  the  dearborn  carriage  in 
wliich  I  had  a  berth  not  exactly  water-proof, 
I  rolled  myself  in  a  -blanket  and  lay  snugly 
coiled  upon  a  tier  of  boxes  and  bales,  under 
cover  of  a  wagon,  and  thus  managed  to 
escape  a  very  severe  drenching. 

It  may  be  proper  to  observe  here,  for  the 
benefit  of  future  travellers,  that  in  order  to 
make  a  secure  shelter  for  the  cargo,  against 


40  STRAYING    OF    CATTLE. 

the  inclemencies  of  the  weather,  there  should 
be  spread  upon  each  wagon  a  pair  of  stout 
Osnaburg  sheets,  with  one  of  sufficient  width 
to  reach  the  bottom  of  the  body  on  each  side, 
so  as  to  protect  the  goods  from  driving  rains. 
By  omitting  this  important  precaution  many 
packages  of  merchandise  have  been  seriously 
injured.  Some  have  preferred  lining  the  exte- 
rior of  the  wagon-body  by  tacking  a  simple 
strip  of  sheeting  all  around  it.  On  the  outward 
trips  especially,  a  pair  of  Mackinaw  blankets 
can  be  advantageously  spread  betwixt  the 
two  sheets,  which  effectually  secures  the  roof 
against  the  worst  of  storms.  This  contri- 
vance has  also  the  merit  of  turning  the  blan- 
kets into  a  profitable  item  of  trade,  by  enabling 
the  owners  to  evade  the  custom-house  officers, 
who  would  otherwise  seize  them  as  contra- 
band articles. 

The  mischief  of  the  storm  did  not  exhaust 
itself,  however,  upon  our  persons.  The  loose 
animals  sought  shelter  in  the  groves  at  a  con- 
siderable distance  from  the  •encampment,  and 
the  wagoners  being  loth  to  turn  out  in  search 
of  them  during  the  rain,  not  a  few  of  course, 
when  appUed  for,  were  missing.  This,  how- 
ever, is  no  uncommon  occurrence.  Travellers 
generally  experience  far  more  annoyance 
from  the  straying  of  cattle  during  the  first 
hundred  miles,  than  at  any  time  afterwards; 
because,  apprehending  no  danger  from  the 
wild  Indians  (who  rarely  approach  witliin 
two  hundred  miles  of  the  border),  they  seldom 
Keep  any  watch,  although  that  is  the  v:^:-- 


THE    NARROWS.  '     41 

time  when  a  cattle-guard  is  most  needed.  It 
is  only  after  some  weeks'  travel  that  the  ani- 
mals begin  to  feel  attached  to  the  caravan, 
which  they  then  consider  about  as  much  their 
home  as  the  stock-yard  of  a  d^iry  farm. 

After  leaving  this  spot  the  troubles 
and  vicissitudes  of  our  journey  began  in 
good  earnest;  for  on  reaching  the  narrow 
ridge  which  separates  the  Osage  and  Kansas 
waters  (known  as  'the  Narrows'),  we  en- 
countered a  region  of  very  troublesome  quag- 
mires. On  such  occasions  it  is  quite  com- 
mon for  a  wagon  to  sink  to  the  hubs  in  mud, 
while  the  surface  of  the  soil  all  around  would 
appear  perfectly  dry  and  smooth.  To  extri- 
cate each  other'#wagons  we  had  frequently 
to  employ  double  and  triple  teams,  with  '  all 
hands  to  the  wheels'  in  addition — often  led 
by  the  proprietors  themselves  up  to  the  waist 
in  mud  and  water. 

Three  or  four  days  after  this,  and  while 
crossing  the  head  branches  of  the  Osage  river, 
we  experienced  a  momentary  alarm.  Con- 
spicuously elevated  upon  a  rod  by  the  road- 
side, we  found  a  paper  purporting  to  have 
been  written  by  the  Kansas  agent,  stating  that 
a  band  of  Pawnees  were  said  to  be  lurking 
in  the  vicinity !  The  first  excitement  over, 
however,  the  majority  of  our  party  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  it  was  either  a  hoax  of 
some  of  the  company  in  advance,  or  else  a 
stratagem  of  the  Kaws  (or  Kansas  Indians), 
who,  as  well  as  the  Osages,  prowl  about  those 
prairies,  and  steal  from  the  caravans,  during 


4S  THE    RENDEZVOUS. 

the  passage,  when  they  entertain  the  slightest 
hope  that  their  maraudings  will  be  laid  to 
others.  They  seldom  venture  further,  how- 
ever, than  to  seize  upon  an  occasional  stray 
animal,  which  they  frequently  do  with  the 
view  alone  of  obtaining  a  reward  for  return- 
ing it  to  its  owner.  As  to  the  Pawnees,  the 
most  experienced  traders  were  well  aware 
that  they  had  not  been  known  to  frequent 
those  latitudes  since  the  commencement  of 
the  Santa  Fe  trade.  But  what  contributed 
as  much  as  anything  else  to  lull  the  fears  of 
the  timid,  was  an  accession  to  our  forces  of 
seventeen  wagons  which  we  overtook  the 
same  evening. 

Early  on  the  26th  of  Maf  we  reached  the 
long  looked-for  rendezvous  of  Council  Grove, 
where  we  joined  the  main  body  of  the  cara- 
van. Lest  this  imposing  title  suggest  to  the 
reader  a  snug  and  thriving  village,  it  should 
be  observed,  that,  on  the  day  of  our  departure 
from  Independence,  we  passed  the  last  hu- 
man abode  upon  our  route ;  therefore,  from 
the  borders  of  Missouri  to  those  of  New  Mex- 
ico not  even  an  Indian  settlement  greeted  our 
eyes. 

This  point  is  nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  from  Independence,  and  consists  of  a 
continuous  stripe  of  timber  nearly  half  a  mile 
in  width,  comprising  the  richest  varieties  of 
trees ;  such  as  oak,  walnut,  ash,  elm,  hickory, 
etc.,  and  extending  all  along  the  valleys  of  a 
small  stream  known  as  *  Council  Grove 
creek,'  the  principal  branch  of  the  Neosho 


•    COUNCIL    GROVE.  43 

river.  This  stream  is  bordered  by  the  most 
fertile  bottoms  and  beautiful  upland  prairies, 
well  adapted  to  cultivation :  such  indeed  is 
the  general  character  of  the  country  from 
thence  to  Independence.  All  who  have  tra- 
versed these  delightful  regions,  look  forward 
with  anxiety  to  the  day  when  the  Indian  title 
to  the  land  shall  be  extinguished,  and  flour- 
ishing 'white'  settlements  dispel  the  gloom 
which  at  present  prevails  over  this  uninhabit- 
ed region.  Much  of  tliis  proUfic  country  now 
belongs  to  the  Shawnees  and  other  Indians 
of  the  border,  though  some  portion  of  it  has 
never  been  allotted  to  any  tribe. 
*  Frequent  attempts  have  been  made  by 
travellers  to  invest  the  Council  Grove  with  a 
romantic  sort  of  interest,  of  which  the  follow- 
ing fabulous  vagaiy,  which  I  find  in  a  letter 
that  went  the  rounds  of  our  journals,  is  an 
amusing  sample :  "  Here  the  Pawnee,  Arapa- 
ho,  Comanche,  Loup  and  Eutaw  Indians,  all 
of  whom  were  at  war  with  each  other,  meet 
and  smoke  the  pipe  once  a  year."  Now  it  is 
more  than  probable  that  not  a  soul  of  most  of 
the  tribes  mentioned  above  ever  saw  the 
Council  Grove.  Whatever  may  be  the  inte- 
rest attached  to  this  place,  however,  on  ac- 
count of  its  historical  or  fanciful  associations, 
one  thing  is  very  certain, — that  the  novice, 
even  here,  is  sure  to  imagine  himself  in  the 
midst  of  lurking  savages.  These  visionary 
fears  are  always  a  source  of  no  Uttle  merri- 
ment to  the  veteran  of  the  field,  who  does  not 
hesitate  to  travel,  with  a  single  wagon  and  a 


H  ROAD    COMMISSIONERS. 

comrade  or  two,  or  even  alone,  from  the  Ar- 
kansas river  to  Independence. 

The  facts  connected  with  the  designation 
of  this  spot  are  simply  these.  Messrs.  Reeves, 
Sibley  and  Mathers,  having  been  commission- 
ed by  the  United  States,  in  the  year  1825,  to 
mark  a  road  from  the  confines  of  JVIissouri  to 
Sante  Fe,  met  on  this  spot  with  some  bands 
of  Osages,  with  whom  they  concluded  a  trea- 
ty, whereby  the  Indians  agreed  to  allow  all 
citizens  of  the  United  States  and  Mexico  to 
pass  unmolested,  and  even  to  lend  their  aid. 
to  those  engaged  in  the  Santa  Fe  trade ;  for 
which  they  were  to  receive  a  gratification  of 
eight  hundred  dollars  in  merchandise.  The 
commissioners,  on  this  occasion,  gave  to  the 
place  the  name  of  '  Council  Grove.' 

But,  although  the  route  examined  by  the 
Commissioners  named  above,  was  partially 
marked  out  as  far  as  the  Arkansas,  by  raised 
mounds,  it  seems  to  have  been  of  but  httle 
service  to  travellers,  who  continued  to  follow 
the  trail  previously  made  by  the  wagons, 
which  is  now  the  settled  road  to  the  region  of 
the  short  '  buffalo  grass.' 

The  designation  of  '  Council  Grove,'  after 
all,  is  perhaps  the  most  appropriate  that  could 
be  given  to  this  place ;  for  we  there  held  a 
*  grand  council,'  at  which  the  respective 
claims  of  the  different  *  aspirants  to  office' 
were  considered,  leaders  selected,  and  a  sys- 
tem of  government  agreed  upon, — as  is  the 
standing  custom  of  these  promiscuous  cara- 
vans.    One  would  have  supposed  that  elec- 


♦ 


THE    GRAND    COUNCIL.  45 

tioneering  and  ^ party  spirit'  would  hardly 
have  penetrated  so  far  into  the  wilderness : 
but  so  it  was.  Even  in  our  httle  community 
we  had  our  '  office-seekers'  and  their  'poU- 
tical  adherents,'  as  earnest  and  as  devoted  as 
any  of  the  modern  school  of  politicians  in  the 
midst  of  civilization.  After  a  great  deal  of 
bickering  and  wordy  warfare,  however,  all  the 

*  candidates'  found  it  expedient  to  decline, 
and  a  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Stanley, 
without     seeking,     or     even    desiring    the 

*  office,'  was  unanimously  proclaimed  '  Cap- 
tain of  the  Caravan.'  The  powers  of  this 
officer  were  undefined  by  any  'constitu- 
tional provision,'  and  consequently  vague 
and  uncertain:  orders  being  only  viewed 
as  mere  requests,  they  are  often  obeyed  of 
neglected  at  the  caprice  of  the  subordi- 
nates. It  is  necessary  to  observe,  however, 
that  the  captain  is  expected  to  direct  the  order 
of  travel  during  the  day,  and  to  designate  the 
camping-ground  at  night ;  with  many  other 
functions  of  a  general  character,  in  the  exer- 
cise of  which  the  company  find  it  convenient 
to  acquiesce.  But  the  httle  attention  that  is 
paid  to  his  commands  in  cases  of  emergency, 
I  will  leave  the  reader  to  become  acquainted 
with,  as  I  did,  by  observing  their  manifesta- 
tions during  the  progress  of  the  expedition. 

But  after  this  comes  the  principal  task  of 
organizing.  The  proprietors  are  first  notified 
by  'proclamation'  to  furnish  a  list  of  their 
men  and  wagons.  The  latter  are  generally 
apportioned  into  four 'divisions,' particularly 


46  ORGANIZATION    AND    MUSTER.  jp 

when  the  company  is  large — and  ours  con- 
sisted of  nearly  a  hundred  wagons,^  besides  *ji 
a  dozen  of  dearborns  and  other  small  vein-  ft 
cles,  and  two  small  cannons  (a  four  and  six 
pounder),  each  mounted  upon  a  carriage.  To 
each  of  these  divisions,  a  'lieutenant'  was  ap- 
pointed, whose  duty  it  was  to  inspect  every 
ravine  and  creek  on  the  route,  select  the  best 
crossings,  and  superintend  what  is  called  in 
prairie  parlance,  the  'forming'  of  each  en- 
campment 

Upon  the  calling  of  the  roll,  we  were  found 
to  muster  an  efficient  force  of  nearly  two  hun- 
dred men  without  counting  invahds  or  other 
disabled  bodies,  who,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
are  exempt  from  duty.  There  is  nothing  so 
much  dreaded  by  inexperienced  travellers  as 
the  ordeal  of  guard  duty.  But  no  matter  what 
the  condition  or  employment  of  the  indivi- 
dual may  be,  no  one  has  the  smallest  chance 
of  evading  the  '  common  law  of  the  prairies.' 
The  amateur  tourist  and  the  listless  loafer  are  f 
precisely  in  the  same  wholesome  predica- 
ment— they  must  all  take  their  regular  turn  at 
the  watch.  There  is  usually  a  set  of  genteel 
idlers  attached  to  every  caravan,  whose  wits 
are  forever  at  work  in  devising  schemes  for  xf 
whiling  away  their  irksome  hours  at  the  ex- 
pense of  others.  By  embarking  in  these  '  trips 
of  pleasure,'  they  are  enabled  to  live  without 
expense ;  for  the  hospitable  traders  seldom 
refuse  to  accommodate  even  a  loafing  compa- 

*  About  half  of  these  wagons  were  drawn  by  ox-teams,  the  rest 
by  mules. — The  capital  in  merchandise  of  the  whole  caiavan  wa8 
about  $200,000. 


GUARD    DUTY.  47 

nion  with  a  berth  at  their  mess  without  charge. 
But  then  these  lounging  attaches  are  expected 
at  least  to  do  good  service  by  way  of  guard 
duty.  None  are  even  permitted  to  furnish  a 
substitute,  as  is  frequently  done  in  mihtary  ex- 
peditions, for  he  that  would  undertake  to  stand 
the  tour  of  another  besides  his  own,  would 
scarcely  be  watchful  enough  for  the  dangers 
of  the  Prairies.  Even  the  invalid  must  be 
able  to  produce  unequivocal  proofs  of  his 
inabiUty,  or  it  is  a  chance  if  the  plea  is  ad- 
mitted. For  my  own  part,  although  I  started 
on  the  ^  sick  hst,'  and  though  the  prairie  sen- 
tinel must'  stand  fast  and  brook  the  severest 
storm  (for  then  it  is  that  the  strictest  watch  is 
necessary),  I  do  not  remember  ever  having 
missed  my  post  but  once  during  the  whole 
journey. 

The  usual  number  of  watches  is  eight, 
each  standing  a  fourth  of  every  alternate  night. 
When  the  party  is  small  the  number  is  gene- 
rally reduced ;  while  in  the  case  of  very  small 
bands,  they  are  sometimes  compelled  for  safe- 
ty's sake  to  keep  one  watch  on  duty  half  the 
night  With  large  caravans  the  captain  usu- 
ally appoints  eight  *  sergeants  of  the  guard,' 
each  of  whom  takes  an  equal  portion  of  men 
under  his  command. 

The  heterogeneous  appearance  of  our  com- 
pany, consisting  of  men  from  every  class  and 
grade  of  society,  with  a  httle  sprinkling  of  the 
softer  sex,  would  have  formed  an  excellent 
subject  for  an  artist's  pencil.  It  may  appear, 
perhaps,  a  little   extraordinary  that    females 


4S  A    MOTLEY    CREW. 

should  have  ventured  across  the  Prairies  under 
such  forlorn  auspices.  Those  who  accompa- 
nied us,  how^ever,  were  members  of  a  Span* 
ish  family  who  had  been  banished  in  1829,  in 
pursuance  of  a  decree  of  the  Mexican  con- 
gress, and  were  now  returning  to  their  homes 
in  consequence  of  a  suspension  of  the  decree. 
Other  females,  however,  have  crossed  the 
prairies  to  Santa  Fe  at  different  times,  among 
whom  I  have  known  two  respectable  French^ 
ladies,  who  how  reside  in  Chihuahua. 

The  wild  and  motley  aspect  of  the  caravan 
can  be  but  imperfectly  conceived  without  an 
idea  of  the  costumes  ot  its  various  members. 
The  most  ^  fasliionable '  prairie  dress  is  the 
fustian  frock  of  the  city-bred  merchant  . 
furnished  with  a  multitude  of  pockets  capa- 
ble of  accommodating  a  variety  of  ^  extra 
tackling.'  Then  there  is  the  backwoodsman 
with  his  Hnsey  or  leather  hunting-shirt — the 
farmer  with  his  blue  jean  coat — the  wagoner 
with  his  flannel-sleeve  vest — ^besides  an  as- 
sortment of  other  costumes  which  go  to  fill  up 
the  picture. 

In  the  article  of  fire-arms  there  is  also  an 
equally  interesting  medley.  The  frontier 
hunter  sticks  to  his  rifle,  as  nothing  could  in- 
duce him  to  carry  what  he  terms  in  derision 
*the  scatter-gun.'  The  sportsman  from  the 
interior  flourishes  his  double-barrelled  fowhng- 
piece  with  equal  confidence  in  its  superiority. 
The  latter  is  certainly  the  most  convenient 
description  of  gun  that  can  be  carried  on  this 
journey ;  as  a  charge  of  buck-shot  in  night 


SUPPLY    OF    TIMBERS.  49 

attacks  (which  are  the  most  common),  will  of 
course  be  more  likely  to  do  execution  than  a 
single  rifle-ball  fired  at  random.  The  *  repeat- 
ing' arms  have  lately  been  brought  into  use 
upon  the  Prairies,  and  they  are  certainly  very 
formidable  weapons,  particularly  when  used 
against  an  ignorant  savage  foe.  A  great 
many  were  furnished  beside  with  a  bountiful 
supply  of  pistols  and  knives  of  every  descrip- 
tion, so  that  the  party  made  altogether  a  very 
brigand-hke  appearance. 

During  our  delay  at  the  Council  Grove,  the 
laborers  were  employed  in  procuring  timber 
for  axle-trees  and  other  wagon  repairs,  of 
which  a  supply  is  always  laid  in  before  leav- 
ing this  region  of  substantial  growths;  for 
henceforward  there  is  no  wood  on  the  route 
fit  for  these  purposes ;  not  even  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Santa  Fe  do  we  meet  with  any  ser- 
viceable timber.  The  supply  procured  here 
is  generally  lashed  under  the  wagons,  in 
wliich  way  a  log  is  not  unfrequently  carried 
to  Santa  Fe,  and  even  sometimes  back  again. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  'Catch  up' — Breaking  up  of  the  Encampment — Perversity 
of  Mules — Under  way — The  Diamond  Spring — Eccentricities 
of  Oxen — First  Glance  of  the  Antelope — Buffalo  Herds  and  . 
Prairie  Novices — A  John  Gilpin  Race — Culinary  Preparations 
— A  Buffalo  Feast — Appetite  of  Prairie  Travellers — Troubles 
in  Fording  Streams — Fresh  Alarms  and  their  Causes — ^A 
Wolfish  Frolic — Arkansas  River — Pleasing  Scenery — Cha- 
racter of  the  Country — Extraordinary  Surgical  Operation — 
The  '  Pawnee  Rock ' — Salutary  Effects  of  Alarms — New  Or- 
der of  March — Prairie  Encampment  and  '  Upholstery ' — Hop- 
pling and  Tethering  of  the  *  Stock' — Crossing  the  Arkansas — 
Great  Battle  with  Rattlesnakes — A  Mustang  Colt  and  a  Mule 
Fracas  — '  The  Caches '  —  Origin  and  Signification  of  the 
Term. 

Owing  to  the  delays  of  organizing  and 
other  preparations,  we  did  not  leave  the 
Council  Grove  camp  till  May  27th.  Although 
the  usual  hour  of  starting  with  the  prairie 
caravans  is  after  an  early  breakfast,  yet,  on 
this  occasion,  we  were  hindered  till  in  the  af- 
ternoon. The  famihar  note  of  preparation, 
'*  Catch  up !  catch  up !"  was  now  sounded 
from  the  captain's  camp,  and  re-echoed  from 
every  division  and  scattered  group  along  the 
valley.  On  such  occasions,  a  scene  of  confu- 
sion ensues,  which  must  be  seen  to  be  appre- 
ciated. The  woods  and  dales  resound  with 
the  gleeful  yells  of  the  light-hearted  wagon 


'catch  up.'  51 

ers,  who,  weary  of  inaction,  and  filled  with 
joy  at  the  prospect  of  getting  under  way,  be- 
come clamorous  in  the  extreme.  Scarcely 
does  the  jockey  on  the  race-course  ply  his 
whip  more  promptly  at  that  magic  word  '  Go,' 
than  do  these  emulous  wagoners  fly  to  har- 
nessing their  mules  at  the  spirit-stirring  sound 
of  '  Catch  up.'  Each  teamster  vies  with  his 
fellows  who  shall  be  soonest  ready ;  and  it  is  a 
matter  of  boastful  pride  to  be  the  first  to  cry 
out— "All's  set!" 

The  uproarious  bustle  which  follows — the 
hallooing  of  those  in  pursuit  of  animals — ^the 
exclamations  which  the  unruly  brutes  call 
forth  from  their  wrathful  drivers;  together 
with  the  clatter  of  bells — the  rattle  of  yokes 
and  harness — the  jingle  of  chains — all  con- 
spire to  produce  a  clamorous  confusion, 
which  would  be  altogether  incomprehensible 
without  the  assistance  of  the  eyes ;  while 
these  alone  would  hardly  suffice  to  unravel 
the  labyrinthian  manoeuvres  and  hurly-burly 
of  this  precipitate  breaking  up.  It  is  some- 
times amusing  to  observe  the  athletic  wagon- 
er hurrying  an  animal  to  its  post — to  see  him 
*  heave  upon'  the  halter  of  a  stubborn  mule, 
while  the  brute  as  obstinately  '  sets  back,'  de- 
termined not  to  'move  a  peg'  till  his  own 
good  pleasure  thinks  it  proper  to  do  so — ^liis 
whole  manner  seeming  to  say,  "  Wait  till  your 
hurry's  over  !"  I  have  more  than  once  seen  a 
driver  hitch  a  harnessed  animal  to  the  halter, 
and  by  that  process  haul  'his  muhshness'  for- 
ward, while  each  of  his  four  projected   feet 


)J2 


DIAMOND    SPRING. 


would  leave  a  furrow  behind ;  until  at  last 
the  perplexed  master  would  wrathfully  ex- 
claim, "  A  mule  will  be  a  mule  any  way  you 
can  fix  it  ! '' 

"  Airs  set !"  is  finally  heard  from  some 
teamster — "  AlFs  set/'  is  directly  responded 
from  every  quarter.  "  Stretch  out !''  immedi- 
ately A^ociferates  the  captain.  Then,  the 
'  heps  !'  of  drivers — ^the  cracking  of  wliips — 
the  trampling  of  feet — ^the  occasional  creak 
of  wheels — the  rumbUng  of  wagons — ^form  a 
new  scene  of  exquisite  confusion,  which  I 
shall  not  attempt  further  to  describe.  "  Fall 
in !"  is  heard  from  head-quarters,  and  the 
i\''agons  are  forthwith  strung  out  upon  the 
long  inclined  plain,  which  stretches  to  the 
heights  beyond  Council  Grove. 

After  fifteen  miles'  progress,  we  arrived  at 
the  '  Diamond  vSpring'  (a  crystal  fountain  dis- 
charging itself  into  a  small  brook),  to  which, 
in  later  years,  caravans  have  sometimes  ad- 
vanced, before  ^  organizing.'  Near  twenty- 
five  miles  beyond  we  crossed  the  Cotton- 
wood fork  of  the  Neosho,  a  creek  still  smaller 
than  that  of  Council  Grove,  and  our  camp 
was  pitched  immediately  in  its  further  valley. 

AVhen  caravans  are  able  to  cross  in  the 
evening,  they  seldom  stop  on  the  near  side  of 
a  stream — first,  because  if  it  happen  to  rain 
during  the  night,  it  may  become  flooded,  and 
cause  both  detention  and  trouble :  again, 
though  the  stream  be  not  impassable  after 
rain,  the  banks  become  slippery  and  difiicult 
to  ascend.     A  tliird  and  still  more  important 


FLURRY    AMONG    THE    OXEN.  53 

reason  is,that^  even  supposing  the  coniia^ency 
of  rain  does  not  occur,  teams  will  rarely  pull 
as  well  in  '  cold  collars/  as  wagoners  term  it — 
that  is,  when  fresh  geared — as  in  the  progress 
of  a  day's  travel.  When  a  heavy  pull  is  just  at 
hand  in  the  morning,  wagoners  sometimes  re- 
sort to  the  expedient  of  driving  a  circuit  upon 
the  prairie,  before  venturing  to  '  take  the  bank/ 
We  experienced  a  temporary  alarm  during 
the  evening,  while  we  lay  encamped  at  Cot- 
tonwood, which  was  rather  more  boisterous 
than  serious  in  its  consequences.  The  wa- 
gons had  been  '  formed'  across  the  neck  of  a 
bend  in  the  creek,  into  which  the  cattle  were 
turned,  mostly  in  their  yokes ;  for  though, 
when  thoroughly  trained,  teamsters  usually 
unyoke  their  oxen  every  night,  yet  at  first 
they  often  leave  them  coupled,  to  save  the 
trouble  of  re-yoking  them  in  their  unruly 
state.  A  httle  after  dark,  these  animals  started 
simultaneously,  with  a  thundering  noise  and 
rattle  of  the  yokes,  towards  the  outlet  protect- 
ed by  the  wagons,  but  for  which  obstacle  they 
might  have  escaped  far  into  the  prairie,  and 
►  have  been  irrecoverably  lost,  or,  at  least,  have 
occasioned  much  trouble  and  delay  to  re- 
cover them.  The  cause  of  the  fright  was 
not  discovered;  but  oxen  are  exceedingly 
whimsical  creatures  when  surrounded  by  un- 
familiar objects.  One  will  sometimes  take  ■ 
a  fright  at  the  jingle  of  his  own  yoke-irons, . 
or  the  cough  of  his  mate,  and,  by  a  sudden 
flounce,  set  the  whole  herd  in  a  flurry.  This 
was  probably  the  case  in  the  present  instance  ; 


64  FIRST    GLIMPSE    OF    BUFFALO, 

although  some  of  our  easily  excited  com^ 
panions  immediately  surmised  that  the  oxen 
had  scented  a  lurking  Pawnee. 

Our  route  lay  through  uninterrupted  prairie 
for  about  forty  miles — ^in  fact  I  may  say,  for 
five  hundred  miles,  excepting  the  very  nar- 
row fringes  of  timber  along  the  borders  of  the 
streams.  The  antelope  of  the  high  prairies 
which  we  now  occasionally  saw,  is  sometimes 
found  as  far  east  as  Council  Grove  ;  and  as  a 
few  old  buffaloes  have  sometimes  been  met 
with  about  Cottonwood,  we  now  began  to 
look  out  for  this  desirable  game.  Some  scat- 
tering bulls  are  generally  to  be  seen  first,  form- 
ing as  it  would  appear  the  '  van'  or  '  piquet 
guards'  of  the  main  droves  with  their  cows 
and  calves.  The  buffalo  are  usually  found 
much  further  east  early  in  the  spring,  than 
during  the  rest  of  the  year,  on  account  of  the 
long  grass,  which  shoots  up  earlier  in  the  sea- 
son than  the  short  pasturage  of  the  plains. 

Our  hopes  of  game  were  destined  soon  to 
be  realized ;  for  early  on  the  second  day  after 
leaving  Cottonwood  (a  few  miles  beyond  the 
principal  Turkey  creek),  our  eyes  were  greet- 
ed with  the  sight  of  a  herd  amounting  to  near- 
ly a  hundred  head  of  buffalo,  quietly  grazing 
in  the  distance  before  us.  Half  of  our  com- 
pany had  probably  never  seen  a  buffalo  be- 
fore (at  least  in  its  wild  state) ;  and  the  ex- 
citement that  the  first  sight  of  these  '  prairie 
beeves'  occasions  among  a  party  of  novices, 
beggars  all  description.  Every  horseman  was 
off  in  a  scamper :  and  some  of  the  wagoners, 


A   BUFFALO    CHASE.  55 

leaving  their  teams  to  take  care  of  themselves, 
seized  their  guns  and  joined  the  race  afoot. 
Here  went  one  with  his  rifle  or  yager — there 
another  with  his  double-barrelled  shot-gun — 
a  third  with  his  holster-pistols— a  Mexican 
perhaps  with  his  lance — another  with  his  bow 
and  arrows — and  numbers  joined  without  any 
arms  whatever,  merely  for  the  '  pleasures  of 
the  chase' — all  helter-skelter — a  regular  John 
Gilpin  race,  truly  'neck  or  naught/  The 
fleetest  of  the  pursuers  were  soon  in  the  midst 
of  the  game,  which  scattered  in  aU  directions, 
like  a  flock  of  birds  upon  the  descent  of  a 
hawk. 

A  few  *  beeves'  were  killed  during  the  chase ; 
and  as  soon  as  our  camp  was  pitched,  the 
bustle  of  kindling  fires  and  preparing  for  sup- 
per commenced.  The  new  adventurers  were 
curious  to  taste  this  prairie  luxury ;  while  we 
all  had  been  so  long  upon  salt  provisions — 
now  nearly  a  month — that  our  appetites  were 
in  exquisite  condition  to  relish  fresh  meat. 
The  fires  had  scarcely  been  kindled  when  the 
fumes  of  broihng  meat  pervaded  the  surround- 
ing atmosphere ;  while  all  huddled  about, 
anxiously  watching  their  cookeries,  and  regal- 
ing their  senses  in  anticipation  upon  the  sa-  • 
vory  odors  which  issued  from  them. 

For  the  edification  of  the  reader,  who  has 
no  doubt  some  curiosity  on  the  subject,  I  will 
briefly*^ mention,  that  the  'kitchen  and  table 
ware'  of  the  traders  usually  consists  of  a  skillet, 
a  frying-pan,  a  sheet-iron  camp-kettle,  a  cofiee- 
pot,  and  each  man  with  his  tin  cup  and  a 


56  PRAIRIE    BRIDGES. 

butcher's  knife.  The  culinary  operations  be- 
ing finished,  the  pan  and  kettle  are  set  upon 
the  grassy  turf,  around  which  all  take  a  '  low- 
ly seat,'  and  crack  their  gleesome  jokes,  while 
from  their  greasy  hands  they  swallow  their 
savory  viands — all  with  a  rehsh  rarely  expe- 
rienced at  the  well-spread  tables  of  the  most 
fashionable  and  wealtiiy. 

The  insatiable  appetite  acquired  by  travel- 
lers upon  the  Prairies  is  almost  incredible,  and 
the  quantity  of  coffee  drank  is  still  more  so. 
It  is  an  unfailing  and  apparently  indispensa- 
ble beverage,  served  at  every  meal — even  un- 
der the  broiling  noon-day  sun,  the  wagoner 
will  rarely  fail  to  replenish  a  second  time,  his 
huge  tin  cup. 

Early  the  next  day  we  reached  the  *  Little 
Arkansas,'  which,  although  endowed  with  an 
imposing  name,  is  only  a  small  creek  with  a 
current  but  five  or  six  yards  wide.  But, 
though  small,  its  steep  banks  and  miry  bed 
annoyed  us  exceedingly  in  crossing.  It  is  the 
practice  upon  the  prairies  on  all  such  occasions, 
for  several  men  to  go  in  advance  with  axes, 
spades  and  mattocks,  and,  by  digging  the  banks 
and  erecting  temporary  bridges,  to  have  all  in 
Readiness  by  the  time  the  wagons  arrive.  A 
bridge  over  a  quagmire  is  made  in  a  few  mi- 
nutes, by  cross-laying  it  with  brush  (willows 
are  best,  but  even  long  grass  is  often  employ- 
ed as  a  substitute),  and  covering  it  with  earth, 
—across  which  a  hundred  wagons  will  often 
pass  in  safety. 

We  had  now  arrived  at  the  point  ne^^rest 


FALSE    ALARMS.  67 

to  the  border,  I  believe,  where  any  outrages 
have  been  perpetrated  upon  the  traders  to 
Santa  Fe.  One  of  the  early  packing  compa- 
nies lost  their  animals  on  this  spot,  and  had  to 
send  back  for  a  new  supply. 

Next  day  we  reached  Cow  creek,  where  all 
the  difficulties  encountered  at  Little  Arkansas 
had  to  be  reconquered :  but  after  digging, 
bridging,  shouldering  the  wheels,  with  the 
usual  accompaniment  of  whooping,  swear- 
ing and  cracking  of  whips,  we  soon  got  safely 
across  and  encamped  in  the  valley  beyond. 
Alarms  now  began  to  accumulate  more  rapid- 
ly upon  us.  A  couple  of  persons  had  a  few 
days  before  been  chased  to  the  wagons  by  a 
band  of buffalo ;  and  this  evening  the  en- 
campment was  barely  formed  when  two 
hunters  came  bolting  in  with  information  that 
a  hundred,  perhaps  of  the  same  'enemy,'  were 
at  hand — at  least  this  was  the  current  opinion 
afterwards.  The  hubbub  occasioned  by  this 
fearful  news  had  scarcely  subsided,  when 
another  arrived  on  a  panting  horse,  crying  out 
"  Indians  !  Indians  !  I've  just  escaped  from  a 
couple,  who  pursued  me  to  the  very  camp  !" 
"  To  arms  !  to  arms  !"  resounded  from  every 
quarter — and  just  then  a  wolf,  attracted  by  the 
fumes  of  broiling  buffalo  bones,  sent  up  a 
most  hideous  howl  across  the  creek.  "  Some 
one  in  distress  !"  was  instantly  shouted  :  "  To- 
his  relief!"  vociferated  the  crowd — and  off 
they  bolted,  one  and  all,  arms  in  hand,  hurly- 
burly — leaving  the  camp  entirely  unprotect- 
ed ;  so  that  had  an  enemy  been  at  hand  in- 


58  PRAIRIE    SCENERY. 

deed,  and  approached  us  from  the  opposite  di- 
rection, they  might  easily  have  taken  posses- 
sion of  the  wagons.  Before  they  had  all  re- 
turned, however,  a  couple  of  hunters  came  in 
and  laughed  very  heartily  at  the  expense  of 
the  first  alarmist,  whom  they  had  just  chased 
into  the  camp. 

Half  a  day's  drive  after  leaving  this  camp 
of '  false  alarms'  brought  us  to  the  valley  of 
Arkansas  river.  This  point  is  about  270  miles 
from  Independence.  From  the  adjacent 
heights  the  landscape  presents  an  imposing 
and  picturesque  appearance.  Beneath  a  ledge 
of  wave-like  yellow  sandy  ridges  and  hillocks 
spreading  far  beyond,  descends  the  majestic 
river  (averaging  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in 
width),  bespeckled  with  verdant  islets,  thickly 
set  with  Cottonwood  timber.  The  banks  are 
very  low  and  barren,  with  the  exception  of  an 
occasional  grove  of  stunted  trees,  hiding  be- 
hind a  swamp  or  sand-hill,  placed  there  as  it 
were  to  protect  it  from  the  fire  of  the  prairies, 
which  in  most  parts  keeps  down  every  peren- 
nial growth.  In  many  places,  indeed,  where 
there  are  no  islands,  tlie  river  is  so  entirely  bare 
of  trees,  that  the  unthinking  traveller  might 
approach  almost  to  its  very  brink,  without  sus- 
pecting its  presence. 

Thus  far,  many  of  the  prairies  have  a  fine 
and  productive  appearance,  though  the  Neo- 
sho river  (or  Council  Grove)  seems  to  form 
the  western  boundary  of  the  truly  rich  and 
beautiful  country  of  the  border.  Up  to  that 
point  the  prairies  are  similar  to  those  of  Mis- 


rHAlRIE    SURGERY.  59 

souri — the  soil  equally  exuberant  and  fertile  ; 
wliile  all  the  country  that  lies  beyond,  is  of  a 
far  more  barren  character — vegetation  of  eve- 
ry kind  is  more  stinted — the  gay  flowers  more 
scarce,  and  the  scanty  timber  of  a  very  infe- 
rior quahty:  indeed,  the  streams,  from  Coun- 
cil Grove  westward,  are  lined  with  very  little 
else  than  cottonwood,  barely  interspersed  here 
and  there  with  an  occasional  elm  or  hack- 
berry. 

Following  up  the  course  of  this  stream  for 
some  twenty  miles,  now  along  the  valley,  and 
again  traversing  the  points  of  projecting  emi- 
nences, we  reached  Walnut  creek.  I  have 
heard  of  a  surgical  operation  performed  at  this 
point,  in  the  summer  of  1826,  which,  though 
not  done  exactly  secundum  arteni^  might  sug- 
gest some  novel  reflections  to  tlie  man  of  sci- 
ence. A  few  days  before  the  caravan  had 
reached  this  place,  a  Mr.  Broadus,  in  attempt- 
ing to  draw  his  rifle  from  a  wagon  muzzle 
foremost,  discharged  its  contents  into  his  arm. 
The  bone  being  dreadfully  shattered,  the  un- 
fortunate man  was  advised  to  submit  to  an 
amputation  at  once ;  otherwise,  it  being  in 
the  month  of  August,  and  excessively  warm, 
mortification  would  soon  ensue.  But 
Broadus  obstinately  refused  to  consent  to 
this  course,  till  death  began  to  stare  him  in  the 
face.  By  this  time,  however,  the  whole  arm 
had  'become  gangrened,  some  spots  having 
already  appeared  above  the  place  where  the 
operation  should  have  been  performed.  The 
invalid's  case  was  therefore   considered  per- 


60  HOT  IRON  VERSUS  LIGATURES. 

fectly  hopeless,  and  he  was  given  up  by  all 
Ills  comrades,  who  thought  of  httle  else  than 
to  consign  him  to  the  grave. 

But  being  unwilling  to  resign  himself  to  the 
fate  which  appeared  frowning  over  him,  with- 
out a  last  effort,  he  obtained  the  consent  of 
two  or  three  of  the  party,  who  undertook  to 
amputate  his  arm  merely  to  gratify  the  wishes 
of  the  dying  man ;  for  in  such  a  hght  they 
viewed  him.  Their  only  *case  of  instru- 
ments' consisted  of  a  handsaw,  a  butcher's 
knife  and  a  large  iron  bolt  The  teeth  of  the 
saw  being  considered  too  coarse,  they  went  to 
work,  and  soon  had  a  set  of  fine  teeth  filed  on 
the  back.  The  knife  having  been  whetted 
keen,  and  the  iron  bolt  laid  upon  the  fire,  they 
commenced  the  operation :  and  in  less  time 
than  it  takes  to  tell  it,  the  arm  was  opened 
round  to  the  bone,  which  was  almost  in  an 
instant  sawed  off';  and  with  the  whizzing  hot 
iron  the  whole  stump  was  so  effectually  sear- 
ed as  to  close  the  arteries  completely.  Band- 
ages were  now  apphed,  and  the  company  pro- 
ceeded on  their  journey  as  though  nothing  had 
occurred.  The  arm  commenced  heaUng  ra- 
pidly, and  in  a  few  weeks  the  patient  was 
sound  and  well,  and  is  perhaps  still  living,  to 
bear  witness  to  the  superiority  of  the  ^  hot  iron' 
over  hgatures,  in  '  taking  up'  arteries. 

On  the  following  day  our  route  lay  mostly 
over  a  level  plain,  which  usually  teems  with 
buffalo,  and  is  beautifully  adapted  to  the 
chase.  At  the  distance  of  about  fifteen  miles, 
the  attention  of  the  traveller  is  directed  to  the 


*  INDIAN    SIGN.'  61 

Pawnee  Rock,'  so  called,  it  is  said,  on  account 
of  a  battle's  having  once  been  fought  hard  by, 
between  the  Pawnees  and  some  other  tribe. 
It  is  situated  at  the  projecting  point  of  a  ridge, 
and  upon  its  surface  are  furrowed,  in  uncouth 
but  legible  characters,  numerous  dates,  and 
the  names  of  various  travellers  who  have 
chanced  to  pass  that  way. 

We  encamped  at  Ash  creek,  where  we 
again  experienced  sundry  alarms  in  conse- 
quence of  '  Indian  sign,'  that  was  discovered 
in  the  creek  valley,  such  as  unextinguished 
fires,  about  which  were  found  some  old  moc- 
casins,— a  sure  indication  of  the  recent  re- 
treat of  savages  from  the  vicinity.  These 
constant  alarms,  however,  although  too  fre- 
quently the  result  of  groundless  and  unmanly 
fears,  are  not  without  their  salutary  effects 
upon  the  party.  They  serve  to  keep  one  con- 
stantly on  the  alert,  and  to  sharpen  those  facul- 
ties of  observation  which  would  otherwise 
become  blunted  or  inactive.  Thus  far  also  we 
had  marched  in  two  lines  only;  but,  after  cross- 
ing the  Pawnee  Fork,  each  of  the  four  divi- 
sions drove  on  in  a  separate  file,  which  became 
henceforth  the  order  of  march  till  we  reached 
the  border  of  the  mountains.  By  moving  in 
long  lines  as  we  did  before,  the  march  is  con- 
tinually interrupted  ;  for  every  accident  which 
delays  a  wagon  ahead  stops  all  those  behind. 
By  marching  four  abreast,  this  difficulty  is 
partially  obviated,  and  the  wagons  can  also 
be  thrown  more  readily  into  a  condition  of 
defence  in  case  of  attack. 
6 


62  BEDDING    AND    TENTS. 

Upon  encamping  the  wagons  are  formed 
into  a  *  hollow  square'  (each  division  to  a 
side),  constituting  at  once  an  enclosure  (or 
corral)  for  the  animals  when  needed,  and  a 
fortification  against  the  Indians.  Not  to  em- 
barrass this  cattle-pen,  the  camp  fires  are 
all  hghted  outside  of  the  wagons.  Outside 
of  the  wagons,  also,  the  travellers  spread  their 
beds,  which  consist,  for  the  most  part,  of  buf- 
falo-rugs and  blankets.  Many  content  them- 
selves with  a  single  Mackinaw ;  but  a  pair 
constitutes  the  most  regular  pallet ;  and  he 
that  is  provided  with  a  buffalo-rug  into  the 
bargain,  is  deemed  luxuriously  supplied.  It 
is  most  usual  to  sleep  out  in  the  open  air,  as 
well  to  be  at  hand  in  case  of  attack,  as  indeed 
for  comfort;  for  the  serene  sky  of  the  Prairies 
affords  the  most  agreeable  and  wholesome 
canopy.  That  deleterious  attribute  of  night 
air  and  dews,  so  dangerous  in  other  cUmates, 
is  but  little  experienced  upon  the  high  plains : 
on  the  contrary,  the  serene  evening  air  seems 
to  affect  the  health  rather  favorably  than  oth- 
erwise. Tents  are  so  rare  on  these  expedi- 
tions that,  in  a  caravan  of  two  hundred  men, 
I  have  not  seen  a  dozen.  In  time  of  rain  the 
traveller  resorts  to  his  wagon,  which  affords  a 
far  more  secure  shelter  than  a  tent;  for  if 
the  latter  is  not  beaten  down  by  the  storms 
which  so  often  accompany  rain  upon  the 
prairies,  the  ground  underneath  is  at  least  apt 
to  be  flooded.  During  dry  weather,  how- 
ever, even  the  invaUd  prefers  the  open  air. 

Prior  to  the  date  of  our  trip  it  had  been  cus- 


CAMP    REGULATIONS.  63 

tomary  to  secure  the  horses  by  hopphng  them. 
The  ^fore-hopple'  (a  leathern  strap  or  rope 
manacle  upon  the  fore-legs)  being  most  con- 
venient, was  more  frequently  used;  though 
the  *  side-line'  (a  hopple  connecting  a  fore 
and  a  hind  leg)  is  the  most  secure ;  for  with 
this  an  animal  can  hardly  increase  his  pace 
beyond  a, hobbling  walk;  whereas,  with  the 
fore-hopple,  a  frighted  horse  Avill  scamper  off 
with  nearly  as  much  velocity  as  though  he 
were  unshackled.  But,  better  than  either  of 
these  is  the  practice  which  the  caravans  have 
since  adopted  of  tethering  the  mules  at  night 
around  the  wagons,  at  proper  intervals,  with 
ropes  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  in  length,  tied 
to  stakes  fifteen  to  twenty  inches  long,  driven 
into  the  ground ;  a  supply  of  which,  as  well 
as  mallets,  the  wagoners  always  carry  with 
them. 

It  is  amusing  to  witness  the  disputes  which 
often  arise  among  wagoners  about  their 
'  staking  ground.'  Each  teamster  is  allowed, 
by  our  *  common  law,'  a  space  of  about  a 
hundred  yards  immediately  fronting  his 
wagon,  which  he  is  ever  ready  to  defend,  if  a 
neighbor  shows  a  disposition  to  encroach 
upon  his  soil.  If  any  animals  are  found 
*  staked'  beyond  the  *  chartered  Umits,'  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  guard  to  *  knock  them  up,'  and 
turn  them  into  the  corral  Of  later  years  the 
tethering  of  oxen  has  also  been  resorted  to 
with  advantage.  It  was  thought  at  first  that 
animals  thus  confined  by  ropes  could  not  pro- 
cure a  sufficient  supply  of  food ;  but  experi* 


64  STAMPEDES. 

ence  has  allayed  all  apprehension  on  the  sub- 
ject. In  fact,  as  the  camp  is  always  pitched 
in  the  most  luxuriantly  clothed  patches  of 
prairie  tliat  can  be  selected,  a  mule  is  seldom 
able  to  dispatch  in  the  course  of  one  night, 
all  the  grass  within  his  reach.  Again,  when 
animals  are  permitted  to  range  at  hberty,  they 
are  apt  to  mince  and  nibble  at  the  tenderest 
blades  and  spend  their  time  in  roaming  from 
point  to  point,  in  search  of  what  is  most  agree- 
able to  their  *  epicurean  palates ;'  whereas  if 
they  are  restricted  by  a  rope,  they  will  at  once 
fall  to  with  earnestness  and  chp  tibie  pasturage 
as  it  comes. 

Although  the  buffalo  had  been  scared  for  a 
few  days, — ^frightened  off,  no  doubt,  by  the 
Indians  whose  *  sign'  we  saw  about  Ash  creek, 
they  soon  became  exceedingly  abundant.  The 
larger  droves  of  these  animals  are  sometimes 
a  source  of  great  annoyance  to  the  caravans, 
as,  by  running  near  our  loose  stock,  there 
is  frequent  danger  of  their  causing  stampedes 
(or  general  scamper),  in  which  case  mules, 
horses  and  oxen  have  been  known  to  run 
away  among  the  buffalo,  as  though  they  had 
been  a  gang  of  their  own  species.  A  com- 
pany of  traders,  in  1824,  lost  twenty  or  thirty 
of  their  animals  in  this  way.  Hunters  have 
also  been  deprived  of  their  horses  in  the  same 
way.  Leaping  from  them  in  haste,  in  order 
to  take  a  more  determinate  aim  at  a  buffalo, 
the  horse  has  been  known  to  take  fright,  and. 
following  the  fleeing  game,  has  disappeared 
with  saddle,  bjidle,  pistols  and  all — most  pro- 


j7 


FORDING    THE    ARKANSAS.  65 

bably  never  to  be  heard  of  again.  In  fact,  to 
look  for  stock  upon  these  prairies,  would  be 
emphatically  to  *  search  for  a  needle  in  a  hay- 
stack;' not  only  because  they  are  virtually 
boundless,  but  that  being  everywhere  alive 
with  herds  of  buffalo,  from  which  horses  can- 
not be  distinguished  at  a  distance,  one  knows 
not  whither  to  turn  in  search  after  the  stray 
animals. 

We  had  lately  been  visited  by  frequent 
showers  of  rain,  and  upon  observing  the  Ar- 
kansas river,  it  was  found  to  be  rising,  which 
seemed  portentous  of  the  troubles  which  the 
'  June  freshet'  might  occasion  us  in  crossing 
it;  and,  as  it  was  already  the  11th  of  this 
month,  this  annual  occurrence  was  now 
hourly  expected.  On  some  occasions  cara- 
vans have  been  obhged  to  construct  what  is 
called  a  ^buffalo-boat,' which  is  done  by  stretch- 
ing the  hides  of  these  animals  over  a  frame 
of  poles,  or,  what  is  still  more  common,  over 
an  empty  wagon-body.  The  '  June  freshets,' 
however,  are  seldom  of  long  duration ;  and, 
during  the  greatest  portion  of  the  year,  the 
channel  is  very  shallow.  Still  the  bed  of  the 
river  being  in  many  places  filled  with  quick- 
sand, it  is  requisite  to  examine  and  mark  out 
the  best  ford  with  stakes,  before  one  under- 
takes to  cross.  The  wagons  are  then  driven 
over  usually  by  double  teams,  which  should 
never  be  permitted  to  stop,  else  animals  and 
wagons  are  apt  to  founder,  and  the  loading  is 
liable  to  be  damaged.  I  have  witnessed  a 
whole  team  down  at  once,  rendering  it  neces- 
.  6* 


66  RATTLESNAKES. 

saiy  to  unharness  and  drag  each  mule  out 
separately  :  in  fact,  more  than  common  exer- 
tion is  sometimes  required  to  prevent  these 
dumpish  animals  from  drowning  in  tlieir  fright 
and  struggles  through  the  water,  though  the 
current  be  but  shallow  at  the  place.  Hence 
it  is  that  oxen  are  much  safer  for  fording 
streams  than  mules.  As  for  ourselves,  we 
forded  the  river  without  serious  difficulty. 

Rattlesnakes  are  proverbially  abundant  up- 
on all  these  prairies,  and  as  there  is  seldom  to 
be  found  either  stick  or  stone  with  which  to 
kill  them,  one  hears  almost  a  constant  popping 
of  rifles  or  pistols  among  the  vanguard,  to 
clear  the  route  of  these  disagreeable  occu- 
pants, lest  they  should  bite  our  animals.  As 
we  were  toilhig  up  through  the  sandy  hil- 
locks which  border  the  southern  banks  of  the 
Arkansas,  the  day  being  exceedingly  warm, 
we  came  upon  a  perfect  den  of  these  reptiles. 
I  will  not  say  '  thousands,'  though  this  perhaps 
were  nearer  the  truth — but  hundreds  at  least 
were  coiled  or  crawling  in  every  direction. 
They  were  no  sooner  discovered  than  we 
were  upon  them  with  guns  and  pistols,  de- 
termined to  let  none  of  them  escape. 

In  the  midst  of  this  amusing  scramble 
among  the  snakes,  a  wild  mustang  colt,  which 
had,  somehow  or  other,  become  separated 
from  its  dam,  came  bolting  among  our  relay 
of  loose  stock  to  add  to  the  confusion.  One 
of  our  mules,  evidently  impressed  with  the 
impertinence  of  the  intruder,  sprang  forward 
and  attacked  it,  with  the  apparent  intention 


*         THE    CACHES.  67 

of  executing  summary  chastisement ;  while 
another  mule,  with  more  benignity  of  temper 
than  its  irascible  compeer,  engaged  most  lus- 
tily in  defence  of  the  unfortunate  httle  mus- 
tang. As  the  contest  was  carried  on  among 
the  wagons,  the  teamsters  soon  became  very 
uproarious  ;  so  that  the  whole,  with  the  snake 
fracas,  made  up  a  capital  scene  of  confusion. 
When  the  mule  skhmish  would  have  ended, 
if  no  one  had  interfered,  is  a  question  which 
remained  undetermined ;  for  some  of  our 
company,  in  view  of  the  consequences  that 
might  result  from  the  contest,  rather  inhu- 
manly took  sides  with  the  assailing  mule ; 
and  soon  after  they  entered  the  lists,  a  rifle 
ball  relieved  the  poor  colt  from  its  earthly  em- 
barrassments, and  the  company  from  further 
domestic  disturbance.  Peace  once  more  re- 
stored, we  soon  got  under  way,  arid  that  eve- 
ning pitched  our  camp  opposite  the  celebrated 
*  Caches,'  a  place  where  some  of  the  earUest 
adventurers  had  been  compelled  to  conceal 
their  merchandise. 

V  The  history  of  the  origin  of  these  '  Caches' 
may  be  of  sufficient  interest  to  merit  a  brief 
recital.  Beard,  of  the  unfortunate  party  of 
1812,  alluded  to  in  the  first  chapter,  having 
returned  to  the  United  States  in  1822,  together 
with  Chambers,  who  had  descended  the  Cana- 
dian river  the  year  before,  induced  some  small 
capitahsts  of  St.  Louis  to  join  in  an  enter- 
prise, and  then  undertook  to  return  to  Sarita 
Fe  the  same  fall,  with  a  small  party  and  an 
assortment  of  merchandise.    Reaching  the  Ar- 


68  A    REMINISCENCE. 

kansas  late  in  the  season,  they  were  overtaken 
by  a  heavy  snow  storm,  and  driven  to  take 
shelter  on  a  large  island.  A  rigorous  winter 
ensued,  wliich  forced  them  to  remain  pent  up 
in  that  place  for  three  long  months.  During 
this  time  the  greater  portion  of  their  animals 
perished ;  so  that,  when  the  spring  began  to 
open,  they  were  unatle  to  continue  their 
journey  with  their  goods.  In  this  emergency 
they  made  a  cache  some  distance  above,  on 
the  north  side  of  the  river,  where  they  stowed 
away  the  most  of  their  merchandise.  From 
thence  they  proceeded  to  Taos,  where  they 
procured  mules,  and  returned  to  get  their  hid- 
den property. 

Few  travellers  pass  this  way  without  visit- 
ing these  mossy  pits,  some  of  which  remain 
partly  unfilled  to  the  present  day.  In  the 
vicinity,  or  a  few  miles  to  the  eastvrard  per- 
haps, passes  the  hundredth  degree  of  longi- 
tude west  from  Greenwich,  which,  from  the 
Arkansas  to  Red  River,  forms  the  boundary 
between  the  United  States  and  the  Mexican, 
or  rather  the  Texan  territory. 

The  term  cache^  meaning  a  place  of  conceal- 
ment,  was  originally  used  by  the  Canadian 
French  trappers  and  traders.  It  is  made  by 
digging  a  hole  in  the  ground,  somewhat  in 
the  shape  of  a  jug,  which  is  lined  with  dry 
sticks,  grass,  or  anything  else  that  will  pro- 
tect its  contents  from  the  dampness  of  the 
earth.  In  this  place  the  goods  to  be  conceal- 
ed are  carefully  stowed  away ;  and  the  aper- 
ture is  then  so  effectually  closed  as  to  protect 


ANTIQUITY    OF   THE    CACHE.  69 

them  from  the  rains.  In  cachings  a  great  deal 
of  skill  is  often  required,  to  leave  no  signs 
whereby  the  cunning  savage  might  discover 
the  place  of  deposit  To  this  end,  the  exca- 
vated earth  is  carried  to  some  distance  and 
carefully  concealed,  or  thrown  into  a  stream, 
if  one  be  at  hand.  The  place  selected  for  a 
cache  is  usually  some  rolling  point,  sufficient- 
ly elevated  to  be  secure  from  inundations. 
If  it  be  well  set  with  grass,  a  solid  piece  of 
turf  is  cut  out  large  enough  for  the  entrance. 
The  turf  is  afterward  laid  back,  and  taking 
root,  in  a  short  time  no  signs  remain  of  its 
ever  having-  been  molested.  However,  as 
every  locahty  does  not  afford  a  turfy  site,  the 
camp  fire  is  sometimes  built  upon  the  place, 
or  the  animals  are  penned  over  it,  which  ef- 
fectually destroys  all  traces  of  the  cache. 

This  mode  of  conceahng  goods  seems  to 
have  been  in  use  from  the  time  of  the  earhest 
French  voyagers  in  America.  Father  Henne- 
pin, during  his  passage  down  the  Mississippi 
river,  in  1680,  describes  an  operation  of  this 
kind  in  the  following  terms  :  ''  We  took  up  the 
green  Sodd,  and  laid  it  by,  and  digg'd  a  hole  in 
the  Earth  where  we  put  our  Goods,  and  cover d 
them  with  pieces  of  Timber  and  Earth,  and 
then  put  in  again  the  green  Turf;  so  that 
'twas  impossible  to  suspect  that  any  Hole  had 
been  digg'd  under  it,  for  we  flung  the  Earth 
into  the  River."  Returning  a  few  weeks 
after,  they  found  the  cache  aU  safe  and  sound. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

A  Desert  Plain — Preparation  for  a  'Water-Scrape' — Accident  to 
a  French  Doctor — Upsetting  of  a  Wagon  and  its  Consequences 
— A  Party  of  Sioux  Warriors — The  first  real  Alarm — Confu- 
sion in  the  Camp — Friendly  Demonstrations  of  the  Indians — 
The  Pipe  of  Peace — Squaws  and  Papooses — An  Extemporary 
Village — Lose  our  Track — Search  after  the  XiOst  River — Hor- 
rible Prospective — The  Cimarron  Found  at  last — A  Night  of 
Alarms — Indian  Serenade  and  Thieving — Indian  Diplomacy — 
Hail-stones  and  Hurricanes — Position  of  the  Captain  of  a  Cara- 
van— His  Troubles,  his  Powers  and  Want  of  Powers — More 
Indians — Hostile  Encounter — Results  of  the  Skirmish — The 
*  Battle-Ground' — Col.  Vizcarra  and  the  Gros  Ventres. 

Our  route  had  already  led  us  up  the  course 
of  the  Arkansas  river  for  over  a  hundred  miles, 
yet  the  earher  caravans  often  passed  from  fifty 
to  a  hundred  further  up  before  crossing  the 
river;  therefore  nothing  like  a  regular  ford 
had  ever  been  estabhshed.  Nor  was  there  a 
road,  not  even  a  trail,  anywhere  across  the 
famous  plain,  extending  between  the  Arkan- 
sas and  Cimarron  rivers,  a  distance  of  over 
fifty  miles,  which  now  lay  before  us — ^the  scene 
of  such  frequent  sufferings  in  former  times  for 
want  of  water.  It  having  been  determined 
upon,  however,  to  strike  across  this  dreaded 
desert  the  following  morning,  the  whole  party 
was  busy  in  preparing  for  the  '  water  scrape/ 


A    *  PRAIRIE    OCEAN.'  71 

as  these  droughty  drives  are  very  appropriately 
called  by  prairie  travellers.  This  tract  of  coun- 
try may  truly  be  styled  the  grand  *  prairie 
ocean ;'  for  not  a  single  landmark  is  to  be  seen 
for  more  than  forty  miles — scarcely  a  visible 
eminence  by  which  to  direct  one's  course.  All 
is  as  level  as  the  sea,  and  the  compass  was  our 
surest,  as  well  as  principal  guide. 

In  view  of  this  passage,  as  well  as  that  of 
many  other  dry  stretches  upon  the  route,  the 
traveller  should  be  apprised  of  the  necessity 
of  providing  a  water-cask  holding  at  least  five 
gallons  to  each  wagon,  in  which  a  supply  for 
drinking  and  cooking  may  be  carried  along  to 
serve  in  cases  of  emergency. 

The  evening  before  the  embarking  of  a 
caravan  upon  this  plain,  the  captain's  voice  is 
usually  heard  above  the  din  and  clatter  of  the 
camp,  ordering  to  "  fill  up  the  water  kegs," — a 
precaution  which  cannot  be  repeated  too 
often,  as  new  adventurers  are  usually  ignorant 
of  the  necessity  of  providing  a  supply  suffi- 
cient to  meet  every  contingency  that  may  be- 
fal  during  two  or  more  days'  journey  over  this 
arid  region.  The  cooks  are  equally  engrossed 
by  their  respective  vocations :  some  are  mak- 
ing bread,  others  preparing  viands,  and  all 
tasking  their  ingenuity  to  lay  by  such  stores 
as  may  be  deemed  expedient  for  at  least  two 
days'  consumption.  On  the  following  morn- 
ing (June  14th),  the  words  '  catch  up'  again 
resounded  through  the  camp,  and  the  cara- 
van was  once  more  in  motion. 

For  the  first  five  miles  we  had  a  heavy  pull 


72  SERIOUS    ACCIDENTS. 

among  tlie  sandy  hillocks ;  but  soon  the  broad 
and  level  plain  opened  before  us.  We  had 
hardly  left  the  river's  side,  however,  when  we 
experienced  a  delay  of  some  hours,  in  conse- 
quence of  an  accident  which  came  very  nigh 
proving  fatal  to  a  French  doctor  of  our  com- 
pany. Fearful  lest  his  stout  top-heavy  dear- 
born should  upset  whilst  sldrting  the  slope  of 
a  hill,  he  placed  himself  below  in  order  to 
sustain  it  with  his  halids.  But,  in  spite  of  all 
his  exertions,  the  carriage  tumbled  over,  crush- 
ing and  masliing  him  most  frightfully.  He 
was  taken  out  senseless,  and  but  Uttle  hopes 
were  at  first  entertained  of  his  recovery. 
Having  revived,  however,  soon  after,  we  were 
enabled  to  resume  our  march ;  and,  in  the 
course  of  time,  tlie  wounded  patient  entirely 
recovered. 

The  next  day  we  fortunately  had  a  heavy 
shower,  which  afforded  us  abundance  of 
water.  Having  also  swerved  considerably  to- 
ward the  south,  we  fell  into  a  more  uneven 
section  of  country,  where  we  had  to  cross  a 
brook  swelled  by  the  recent  rain,  into  wliich 
one  of  the  wagons  was  unfortunately  over- 
set. This,  however,  was  not  a  very  uncom- 
mon occurrence;  for  unruly  oxen,  when 
thirsty,  will  often  rush  into  a  pool  in  despite 
of  the  driver,  dragging  the  wagon  over  every 
object  in  their  way,  at  the  imminent  risk  of 
turning  it  topsy-turvy  into  the  water.  We 
were  now  compelled  to  make  a  halt,  and  all 
hands  flocked  to  tlie  assistance  of  the  owner 
of  the  damaged  cargo.     In   a  few  mhautes 


SIOUX  VISIT.  78 

about  an  acre  of  ground  was  completely 
covered  with  calicoes,  and  other  domestic 
goods,  presenting  altogether  an  interesting 
spectacle. 

All  were  busily  occupied  at  this  work  when 
some  objects  were  seen  moving  in  the  dis- 
tance, which  at  first  were  mistaken  for  buffalo; 
but  were  speedily  identified  as  horsemen. 
Anxiety  was  depicted  in  every  countenance. 
Could  it  be  possible  that  the  party  of  Capt. 
Sublette,  which  was  nearly  a  month  ahead  of 
us,  had  been  lost  in  these  dreary  solitudes  ? 
or  was  it  the  band  of  Capt.  Bent,  who  was 
expected  to  follow  some  time  after  us  ?  This 
anxious  suspense,  however,  lasted  only  for  a 
few  minutes  ;  and  the  cry  of  "  Indians !"  soon 
made  the  well^in  ring.  Still  they  appeared 
to  approach  too  slowly  for  the  western  prairie 
tribes.  A  httle  nearer,  and  we  soon  perceived 
that  they  carried  a  flag,  which  turned  out  to 
be  that  of  the  United  States.  This  welcome 
sight  allayed  at  once  all  uneasiness ;  as  it  is 
well  known  that  most  savages,  when  friendly, 
approach  the  whites  with  a  hoisted  flag,  pro- 
vided they  have  one.  It  turned  out  to  be  a 
party  of  about  eighty  Sioux,  who  were  on  a 
tour  upon  the  Prairies  for  the  purpose  of  trad- 
ing with,  stealing  from  or  marauding  upon 
the  south-western  nations.  Our  communica- 
tions were  carried  on  entirely  by  signs ;  yet 
we  understood  them  perfectly  to  say,  that  there 
were  immense  numbers  of  Indians  ahead, 
upon  the  Cimarron  river,  whom  they  described 
by  symboUc  language  to  be  Blackfeet  and  Co 

'      7 


■>^'- 


74  ALARM    Ox\    THE    CIMARRON. 

maiiclies ;  a  most  agreeable  prospect  for  the 
imagination  to  dwell  upon ! 

We  now  moved  on  slowly  and  leisurely, 
for  all  anxiety  on  the  subject  of  water  had 
been  happily  set  at  rest  by  frequent  falls 
of  rain.  But  imagine  our  consternation  and 
dismay,  when,  upon  descending  into  the  valley 
of  the  Cimarron,  on  the  morning  of  the  19th 
of  June,  a  band  of  Indian  warriors  on  horse- 
back suddenly  appeared  before  us  from  be- 
hind the  ravines — an  imposing  array  of  death- 
dealing  savages!  There  was  no  merriment 
in  this  !  It  was  a  genuine  alarm — a  tangible 
reaUty  !  These  warriors,  however,  as  we  soon 
discovered,  were  only  the  van-guard  of  a 
*  countless  host,'  who  were  by  this  time  pour- 
ing over  the  opposite  ridge,  and  galloping 
directly  towards  us. 

The  wagons  were  soon  irregularly  '  formed' 
upon  the  hill-side :  but  in  accordance  with 
the  habitual  carelessness  of  caravan  traders,  a 
great  portion  of  the  men  were  unprepared  for 
the  emergency.  Scores  of  guns  were  *  empty,' 
and  as  many  more  had  been  wetted  by  the 
recent  showers,  and  would  not  *  go  off.'  Here 
was  one  calling  for  balls— another  for  powder 
— a  third  for  flints.  Exclamations,  such  as, 
"I've  broke  my  ramrod" — "I've  spilt  my 
caps" — "  I've  rammed  down  a  ball  without 
powder" — "My  gun  is  *  choked;'  give  me 
yours" — were  heard  from  different  quarters; 
while  a  timorous  '  greenhorn'  would  perhaps 
cry  out,  "  Here,  take  my  gun,  you  can  out- 
shoot  me  !"     The  more  daring  bolted  off  io 


HOSTILE    DEMONSTRATIONS.  74 

encounter  the  enemy  at  once,  while  the  timid 
and  cautious  took  a  stand  with  presented  rifle 
behind  the  wagons.  The  Indians  who  were 
in  advance  made  a  bold  attempt  to  press  upon 
us,  wliich  came  near  costing  them  dearly ;  for 
some  of  our  fiery  backwoodsmen  more  than 
once  had  their  rusty  but  unerring  rifles  direct- 
ed upon  the  intruders,  some  of  whom  would 
inevitably  have  fallen  before  their  deadly  aim, 
had  not  a  few  of  the  more  prudent  traders  in- 
terposed. The  savages  made  demonstrations 
no  less  hostile,  rushing,  with  ready  sprung 
bows,  upon  a  portion  of  our  men  who  had  gone 
in  search  of  water;  and  mischief  would,  per- 
haps, have  ensued,;had  not  the  impetuosity 
of  the  warriors  been  checked  by  the  wise  men 
of  the  nation. 

The  Indians  were  collecting  around  us, 
however,  in  such  great  numbers,  that  it  was 
deemed  expedient  to  force  them  away,  so  as 
to  resume  our  march,  or  at  least  to  take  a 
more  advantageous  position.  Our  company 
was  therefore  mustered  and  drawn  up  in  4ine 
of  battle  ;'  and,  accompanied  by  the  sound  of  a 
drum  and  fife,  we  marched  towards  the  main 
group  of  the  Indians.  The  latter  seemed  far 
more  deh^rhted  than  frio^htened  with  this 
strange  parade  and  music,  a  spectacle  they 
had,  no  doubt,  never  witnessed  before,  and 
perhaps  looked  upon  the  whole  movement 
rather  as  a  comphmentary  salute  than  a  hos- 
tile array  ;  for  there  was  no  interpreter  through 
whom  any  communication  could  be  convey- 
ed to  them.     But,  whatever  may  have  been 


76  «     CONCILIATORY    SMOKE. 

their  impressions,  one  thing  is  certain, — that 
the  principal  chief  (who  was  dressed  in  a  long 
red  coat  of  strouding,  or  coarse  cloth)  appear- 
ed to  have  full  conhdence  in  the  virtues  of 
Jiis  calumet;  which  he  hghted,  and  came 
boldly  forward  to  meet  our  warlike  corps, 
serenely  smoking  the  '  pipe  of  peace.'  Our 
captam,  now  taking  a  whiff  with  the  savage 
chief,  directed  him  by  signs  to  cause  liis 
warriors  to  retire.  This  most  of  them  did,  to 
rejoin  the  long  train  of  squaws  and  papooses 
with  the  baggage,  who  followed  in  the  rear, 
and  were  just  then  seen  emerging  from  be- 
yond the  hills.  Having  slowly  descended  to 
the  banks  of  the  stream',  they  pitched  their  ^ 
wigwams  or  lodges;  over  five  hundred  of 
which  soon  bespeckled  the  ample  valley  be- 
fore us,  and  at  once  gave  to  its  recently 
meagre  surface  the  aspect  of  an  immense 
Indian  village.  The  entire  number  of  the 
Indians,  w^hen  collected  together,  could  not 
have  been  less  than  from  two  to  three  thou- 
j^and — although  some  of  our  company  insisted 
that  there  were  at  least  four  thousand  souls. 
In  such  a  case  they  must  have  mustered 
nearly  a  thousand  warriors,  while  we  were, 
but  little  over  two  hundred  strong.  Still,  our 
superior  arrms  and  the  protection  afforded  by 
the  wagons,  gave  us  considerably  the  advan- 
tage, even  supposing  an  equahty  in  point 
of  valor.  However,  the  appearance  of  the 
squaws  and  children  soon  con\dnced  us,  that, 
for  the  present,  at  least,  they  had  no  hostile  in- 
tentions; so  w^e  also  descended  into  the  valley 


SEARCH    FOR    THE    CIMARRON.  Vf 

and  formed  our  camp  a  few  hundred  yards 
below  them.  The  '  capitanes/  or  head  men 
of  the  whites  and  Indians,  shortly  after  met, 
and,  again  smoking  the  calumet,  agreed  to  be 
friends. 

Although  we  were  now  on  the  very  banks 
^  the  Cimarron,  even  the  most  experienced 
traders  of  our  party,  whether  through  fright 
or  ignorance,  seemed  utterly  unconscious  of 
the  fact.  Having  made  our  descent,  far  be- 
low the  usual  point  of  approach,  and  there 
being  not  a  drop  of  water  found  in  the  sandy 
bed  of  the  river,  it  was  mistaken  for  Sand 
creek,  and  we  accordingly  proceeded  without 
noticing  it.  Therefore,  after  our  ^big  talk'  was 
concluded,  aftd  dinner  dispatched,  we  again 
set  out  southward,  in  search  of  the  Cimarron. 
As  we  were  starting,  warriors,  squaws  and 
papooses  now  commenced  flocking  about  us, 
gazing  at  our  wagons  with  amazement ;  for 
many  of  them  had  never,  perhaps,  seen  such 
vehicles  before.  A  few  chiefs  and  others  fol- 
lowed us  to  our  next  encampment ;  but  these 
were  sent  away  at  night. 

Our  guards  were  now  doubled,  as  a  night 
•attack  was  apprehended;  for  although  we 
were  well  aware  that  Indians  never  commit 
outrages  with  their  families  at  hand,  yet 
it  was  feared  that  they  might  either  send  them 
away  or  conceal  them  during  the  night.  A 
little  after  dark,  these  fears  seemed  about  to 
be  realized ;  as  a  party  of  thirty  or  forty  Indians 
were  seen  coming  up  towards  the  encamp- 
ment.    Immediate  preparations  were  made 

7* 


73  LOST    ON    THE    DESERT. 

to  attack  them,  when  they  turned  out  to  be  a 
band  of  squaws,  with  merely  a  few  men  as 
gallants — all  of  whom  were  summarily  turned 
adrift,  without  waiting  to  speculate  upon  the 
objects  of  their  visit.  The  next  morning  a 
few  others  made  their  appearance,  which  we 
treated  in  precisely  the  same  manner,  as  a 
horse  was  missing,  which  it  was  presumed 
the  Indians  had  stolen. 

We  continued  our  march  southward  in 
search  of  the  '  lost  river.'  After  a  few  miles' 
travel  we  encountered  a  ledge  of  sand-hills, 
which  obstructed  our  course,  and  forced  us  to 
turn  westward  and  follow  their  border  for  the 
rest  of  the  day.  Finding  but  Uttle  water  that 
night,  and  none  at  all  the  next  day,  we  began 
by  noon  to  be  sadly  frightened ;  for  nothing  is 
more  alarming  to  the  prairie  traveller  than 
a  *  water-scrape.'  The  impression  soon  be- 
came general  that  we  were  lost — lost  on  that 
inhospitable  desert,  which  had  been  the  thea- 
tre of  so  many  former  scenes  of  suffering ! 
and  our  course  impeded  by  sand-hills!  A 
council  of  the  veteran  travellers  was  called  to 
take  our  emergency  into  consideration.  I^ 
was  at  once  resolved  to  strike  in  a  northwest- ; 
erly  direction  in  search  of  the  ^  diy  ravine '  we 
had  left  behind  us,  which  was  now  supposed^ 
to  have  been  the  Cimarron. 

We  had  just  set  out,  when  a  couple  of  In- 
dians approached  us,  bringing  the  horse  we 
had  lost  the  night  before ;  an  apparent  demon- 
stration of  good  faith  which  could  hardly  have 
been  anticipated.     It  was  evidently  an  effort 


VALLEY    OF  THE    CIMARRON.  79 

to  ingratiate  themselves  in  our  favor,  and  es- 
tablish an  intercourse — perhaps  a  traffic.  But 
the  outrages  upon  Major  Riley,  as  well  as 
upon  a  caravan,  not  two  years  before,  perpe- 
trated probably  by  the  same  Indians,  were 
fresh  in  the  memory  of  all ;  so  that  none  of 
us  were  willing  to  confide  in  their  friendly 
professions.  On  inquiring  by  means  of  signs 
for  the  nearest  water,  they  pointed  to  the  di- 
rection we  were  travelling :  and  finally  taking 
the  lead,  they  led  us,  by  the  shortest  way,  to 
the  valley  of  the  long-sought  Cimarron, 
which,  with  its  delightful  green-grass  glades 
and  flowing  ton^ent  (very  different  in  appear- 
ance from  where  we  had  crossed  it  below), 
had  all  the  aspect  of  an  '  elysian  vale,'  com- 
pared with  what  we  had  seen  for  some  time 
past.  We  pitched  our  camp  in  the  valley, 
much  rejoiced  at  having  again  *made  a 
port' 

We   were   not   destined  to    rest  long  in 
peace,  however.     About  midnight  we  were 
all  aroused  by  a  cry  of  alarm,  the  like  of 
which  had    not  been  heard   since  the    day 
Don  Quixote  had  his  famous  adventure  with 
the  fulling-mills;    and  I  am  not  quite  sure 
but  some  of  our  party  suffered  as  much  from 
fright  as  poor  Sancho  Panza  did  on  that  me- 
morable occasion.      But  Don   Quixote   and 
Sancho  only  heard  the  thumping  of  the  mills 
and  the  roaring   of  the  waters;    while   we 
heard  the  thumping  of  the  Indian  drums,  ac- 
companied by  occasional  yells,  which  our  ex- 
cited fancies  immediately  construed  into  notes 
of  the  fearful  war-song. 


80  INDIAN    PERTINACITY. 

After  the  whole  company  had  been  under 
arms  for  an  hour  or  two,  finding  the  cause  of 
alarm  approached  no  nearer,  we  again  retired 
to  rest.  But  a  little  before  dayhght  we  were 
again  startled  by  the  announcement — "  The 
Indians  are  coming ! — ^they  are  upon  the  very 
camp  !'^  In  a  moment  every  man  was  up  in 
arms;  and  several  guns   were  presented  to 

*  salute'  the  visitors,  when,  to  our  extreme 
mortification,  they  were  found  to  be  but  eight 
or  ten  in  number.  They  were  immediately 
dispatched,  by  signs,  and  directed  to  remain 
away  till  morning — which  they  did. 

On  the  following  day,  we  had  been  in  mo- 
tion but  a  few  minutes,  when  the  Indians  be- 
gan flocking  around  us  in  large  numbers,  and 
by  the  time  we  encamped  in  the  evening,  we 
had  perhaps  a  thousand  of  these  pertinacious 
creatures,  males  and  females,  of  all  ages  and 
descriptions,  about  us.  At  night,  every  means, 
without  resorting  to  absolute  violence,  was 
employed  to  drive  them  away,  but  without 
entire  success.  At  this  time  a  small  band  of 
warriors  took  the    round  of  our  camp,  and 

*  serenaded'  us  with  a  monotonous  song  of 
hee-o-hehs^  with  the  view,  I  suppose,  of  gain- 
ing permission  to  remain ;  hoping,  no  doubt, 
to  be  able  to  '  drive  a  fair  business'  at  pilfer- 
ing during  the  night.  In  fact,  a  few  small 
articles  were  already  missing,  and  it  was  now 
discovered  that  they  had  purloined  a  pig  of 
lead  (between  fifty  and  a  hundred  pounds 
weight)  from  one  of  the  cannon-carriages, 
where  it  had  been  carelessly  left.     This  in- 


THE    FINAL   TREATS.  81 

creased  the  uneasiness  which  already  prevail- 
ed to  a  considerable  extent ;  and  many  of  us 
would  imagine  it  already  moulded  into  bul- 
lets, wliich  we  were  perhaps  destined  to  re- 
ceive before  morning  from  the  muzzles  of 
their  fusils.  Some  were  even  so  liberal  as  to 
express  a  willingness  to  pardon  the  theft, 
rather  than  give  the  Indians  the  trouble  of  ^ 
sending  it  back  in  so  hasty  a  manner.  After 
a  tedious  night  of  suspense  and  conjecture,  it 
was  no  small  relief  to  those  whose  feelings 
had  been  so  highly  wrought  upon,  to  find,  on 
waking  up  in  the  morning,  that  every  man 
still  retained  his  scalp. 

We  started  at  a  much  earlier  hour,  this 
morning,  in  hopes  to  leave  our  Indian  tor- 
mentors behind;  but  they  were  too  wide- 
awake for  us.  By  the  time  the  wagoners 
had  completed  the  task  of  gearing  their  teams, 
the  squaws  had  '  geared'  their  dogs,  and  load- 
ed them  with  their  lodge  poles  and  covers, 
and  other  light '  plunder,'  and  were  traveUing 
fast  in  our  wake.  Much  to  our  comfort,  how- 
ever, the  greatest  portion  abandoned  us  before 
night ;  but  the  next  day  several  of  the  chiefs 
overtook  us  again  at  noon,  seeming  anxious 
to  renew  the  '  treaty  of  peace.'  The  truth  is, 
the  former  treaty  had  never  been  '  sealed' — 
they  had  received  no  presents,  which  form  an 
indispensable  ratification  of  all  their  '  treaties' 
with  the  whites.  Some  fifty  or  sixty  dollars' 
worth  of  goods  having  been  niade  up  for  them, 
they  now  left  us  apparently  satisfied;  and  al- 
liiough  they  continued  to  return  and  annoy  us 


8S  PRAIRIE    STORMS. 

for  a  couple  of  days  longer ;  they  at  last  en- 
tirely disappeared. 

It  was  generally  supposed  at  the  time  that 
there  was  a  great  number  of  Comanches  and 
Arrapahoes  among  this  troop  of  savages ;.  but 
they  were  principally  if  not  altogether  Blackfeet 
and  Gros  Ventres.  We  afterward  learned  that 
on  their  return  to  the  northern  mountains,  they 
'met  with  a  terrible  defeat  from  the  Sioux  and 
other  neighboring  tribes,  in  which  they  were 
said  to  have  lost  more  than  half  their  number. 

We  now  encountered  a  great  deal  of  wet 
weather ;  in  fact  this  region  is  famous  for  cold 
protracted  rains  of  two  or  three  days'  dura- 
tion. Storms  of  hail-stones  larger  than  hen's 
eggs  are  not  uncommon,  frequently  accom- 
panied by  the  most  tremendous  hurricanes. 
The  violence  of  the  wind  is  sometimes  so 
great  that,  as  I  have  heard,  two  road-wagons 
were  once  capsized  by  one  of  these  terrible 
thunder-gusts ;  the  rain,  at  the  same  time, 
floating  the  plain  to  the  depth  of  several  inch- 
es. In  short,  I  doubt  if  there  is  any  known 
region  out  of  the  tropics,  that  can  '  head'  the 
great  prairies  in  *  getting  up'  thunder-storms, 
combining  so  many  of  the  elements  of  the 
awful  and  subUme. 

During  these  storms  the  guards  were  often 
very  careless.  This  was  emphatically  the 
case  with  us,  notwithstanding  our  knowledge 
of  the  proximity  of  a  horde  of  savages.  In 
fact,  the  caravan  was  subject  to  so  httle  con^ 
trol  that  the  patience  of  Capt.  Stanley  under- 
went some  very  severe  trials ;    so   much  so 


*  TROUBLES    IN    THE    WIGWAM.'  83 

that  he  threatened  more  than  once  to  resign. 
Truly,  there  is  not  a  better  school  for  testing  a 
man's  temper,  than  the  command  of  a  pro- 
miscuous caravan  of  independent  traders. 
The  rank  of  captain  is,  of  course,  but  httle 
more  than  nominal.  Every  proprietor  of  a 
two-horse  wagon  is  apt  to  assume  as  much 
authority  as  the  commander  himself,  and  to 
issue  his  orders  without  the  least  consultation 
at  head-quarters.  It  is  easy  then  to  conceive 
that  the  captain  has  anything  but  an  enviable 
berth.  He  is  expected  to  keep  order  while 
few  are  disposed  to  obey — ^loaded  with  exe- 
crations for  every  mishap,  whether  acciden- 
tal or  otherwise;  and  when  he  attempts 
to  remonstrate  he  only  renders  himself  ridicu- 
lous, being  entirely  without  power  to  enforce 
his  commands.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  some 
system  of  *  maritime  law'  has  not  been  intro- 
duced among  these  traders  to  secure  subordi- 
nation, which  can  never  be  attained  while  the 
commander  is  invested  with  no  legal  author- 
ity. For  my  own  part,  I  can  see  no  reason 
why  the  captain  of  a  prairie  caravan  should 
not  have  as  much  power  to  call  his  men  to  ac- 
count for  disobedience  or  mutiny,  as  the  cap- 
tain of  a  ship  upon  the  high  seas. 

After  following  the  course  of  the  Cimarron 
for  two  days  longer,  we  at  length  reached  a 
place  called  the  '  Willow  Bar,'  where  we  took 
the  usual  mid-day  respite  of  two  or  three 
hours,  to  afford  the  animals  time  to  feed,  and 
our  cooks  to  prepare  dinner.  Our  wagons 
were   regularly    *  formed,'   and  the    animals 


S4  SKIRMISH    WITH    INDIANS. 

turned  loose  to  graze  at  leisure,  with  only  a 
*  day-guard'  to  watch  them.  Those  who  had 
finished  their  dinners  lay  stretched  upon  their 
blankets,  and  were  just  beginning  to  enjoy 
the  luxury  of  a  siesta — when  all  of  a  sudden, 
the  fearful  and  oft-reiterated  cry  of  "  Indians !" 
turned  tliis  scene  of  repose  into  one  of  bus- 
tle and  confusion. 

From  the  opposite  ridge  at  the  distance  of 
a  mile,  a  swarm  of  savages  were  seen  coming 
upon  us,  at  full  charge,  and  their  hideous 
whoop  and  yell  soon  resounded  through  the 
v^alley.  Such  a  jumbhng  of  promiscuous 
voices  I  never  expect  to  hear  again.  Every 
one  fancied  himself  a  commander,  and  voci- 
ferated his  orders  accordingly.  The  air  was 
absolutely  rent  with  the  cries  of  "  Let's  charge 
'em,  boys  !" — "  Fire  upon  'em,  boys !" — "  Re- 
serve! don't  fire  till  they  come  nearer!" — 
while  the  voice  of  our  captain  was  scarcely 
distinguishable  in  his  attempts  to  prevent  such 
rash  proceedings.  As  the  prairie  Indians  of- 
ten approach  their  friends  as  well  as  enemies 
in  this  way.  Captain  Stanley  was  unwiUing  to 
proceed  to  extremities,  lest  they  might  be 
peacefully  inclined.  But  a  *  popping  salute,' 
and  the  whizzing  of  fusil  balls  over  our  heads, 
soon  explained  their  intentions.  We  returned 
them  several  rifle  shots  by  way  of  compli- 
ment, but  without  effect,  as  they  were  at  too 
great  a  distance. 

A  dozen  cannoniers  now  surrounded  our 
'  artillery,'  wliich  was  charged  with  canister 
Each  of  them  had,  of  course,  something  to 


THE    *  BATTLE    GROUND.'  85 

say.  "Elevate  her;  she'll  ground,"  one 
would  suggest.  "  She'U  overshoot,  now."  re- 
joined another.  At  last,  after  raising  and 
lowering  the  six-pounder  several  times,  during 
which  process  the  Indians  had  time  to  retreat 
beyond  reach  of  shot,  the  match  was  final- 
ly applied,  and — ^bang!  went  the  gun,  but 
the  ^charge  grounded  mid- way.  This  was 
followed  by  two  or  three  shots  with  single 
ball,  but  apparently  without  effect ;  although 
there  were  some  with  sharp  eyes,  who  fan- 
cied they  saw  Indians  or  horses  wounded  at 
every  fire.  We  came  off  equally  unscathed 
from  the  conflict,  barring  a  horse  of  but  little 
value,  which  ran  away,  and  was  taken  by  the 
enemy.  The  Indians  were  about  a  hundred 
in  number,  and  supposed  to  be  Comanches, 
though  they  might  have  been  a  band  of  war- 
riors belonging  to  the  party  we  had  just  left 
behind. 

The  novices  were  not  a  little  discouraged 
at  these  frequent  inroads  of  the  enemy,  al- 
though it  is  very  seldom  that  any  lives  are 
lost  in  encounters  with  them.  In  the  course 
of  twenty  years  since  the  commencement  of 
this  trade,  I  do  not  beUeve  there  have  been  a 
dozen  deaths  upon  the  Santa  Fe  route,  even 
including  those  who  have  been  killed  off  by 
disease,  as  well  as  by  the  Indians. 

On  the  following  day  we  encamped  near 
the  *  Battle  Ground,'  famous  for  a  skirmish 
which  a  caravan  of  traders,  in  company  with 
a  detachment  of  Mexican  troops,  under  the 
command  of  Col.  Vizcarra,  had  in  1829  with 


86  A   FIGHT    WITH    THE    GROS   VENTRES. 

a  band  of  Gros  Ventres.  The  united  com- 
panies had  just  encamped  on  the  Cimarron, 
near  the  site  of  the  burial  catastrophe  which 
occurred  the  preceding  year.  A  party  of  about 
a  hundred  and  twenty  Indians  soon  after 
approached  them  on  foot;  but  as  the  Ameri- 
cans were  but  Uttle  disposed  to  admit  friendly 
intercourse  between  them,  they  passed  into 
the  camp  of  the  Mexican  commander,  who 
received  them  amicably — a  circumstance  not 
altogether  agreeable  to  the  traders.  As  the  In- 
dians seemed  disposed  to  remain  till  morning, 
Col.  A^izcarra  promised  that  they  should  be 
disarmed  for  the  night;  but  the  cunning 
wretches  made  some  excuse  to  delay  the  sur- 
render of  their  weapons,  until  the  opportuni- 
ty being  favorable  for  a  coup  de  main,  they 
sprang  to  their  feet,  raised  a  fearful  yell,  and 
fired  upon  the  unsuspecting  party.  Their  aim 
seems  chiefly  to  have  been  to  take  the  Ufe  of 
the  Mexican  colonel ;  and  it  is  said  that  a  Taos 
Indian  who  formed  one  of  the  Mexican  es- 
cort, seeing  a  gun  levelled  at  his  commander, 
sprang  forward  and  received  the  ball  in  his 
own  body,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  in- 
stantly expired !  The  Indians  were  pursued 
for  several  miles  into  the  hiUs,  and  a  consid- 
erable number  killed  and  wounded.  Of  the 
Americans  not  one  received  the  slightest  in- 
jury ;  but  of  the  Mexican  dragoons,  a  captain 
and  two  or  three  privates  were  kiUed. 


CHAPTER  V. 

A  Beautiful  Ravine — '  Runners'  Starting  for  Santa  F^ — Fourth 
of  July  on  the  Prairies — The  Cibolero  or  Buffalo-hunter— 
Mournful  News  of  Captain  Sublette's  Company — Murder  of 
Captain  Smith  and  another  of  the  party  by  the  Indians — 
Carelessness  and  Risks  of  Hunters — Captain  Sublette's  Peril 
— Character  and  Pursuits  of  the  Ciholeros — The  Art  of  Curing 
iPleat — Purity  of  the  Atmosphere — The  *  Round  Mound' — The 
Mirage  or  False  Ponds — Philosophy  thereof — Extensive  and 
Interesting  View — Exaggerated  Accounts  by  Travellers  of 
the  Buffalo  of  the  Prairies — Their  Decrease — A  '  Stampede' 
— Wagon  Repairing — Rio  Colorado  or  Canadian  River- 
Meeting  between  old  Friends — Mexican  Escort — Disorganiz- 
ing of  the  Caravan — Dreadful  Thunder-storm — First  Symp- 
toms of  Civilization — San  Miguel — Arrival  at  Santa  Fe — 
Entry  of  the  Caravan — First  Hours  of  Recreation — Inter- 
preters and  Custom-house  Arrangements — A  Glance  at  the 
Trade,  etc. 

It  was  on  the  last  day  of  June  that  we  ar- 
rived at  the  '  Upper  Spring/  which  is  a  small 
fountain  breaking  into  a  ravine  that  dechnes 
towards  the  Cimarron  some  three  or  four 
miles  to  the  north.  The  scarcity  of  water  in 
these  desert  regions,  gives  to  every  little 
spring  an  importance  which,  of  course,  in 
more  favored  countries  it  would  not  enjoy. 
We  halted  at  noon  on  the  brook  below,  and 
then  branched  off  towards  the  waters  of  the 
Canadian,  in  an  average  direction  of  about 


88  THE   AV ANT-COURIERS.  * 

thirty  degrees  south  of  west.  As  the  wagon- 
road  passes  upon  the  adjacent  ridge  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  to  the  south  of  this  spring,  some  of 
us,  to  procure  a  draught  of  its  refreshing  wa- 
ter, pursued  a  path  along  the  ravine,  winding 
through  dense  thickets  of  underbrush,  matted 
with  green-briers  and  grape-vines,  which,  with 
the  wld-currant  and  plum-bushes,  were  all 
bent  under  their  unripe  fruit.  The  wildness 
,of  this  place,  with  its  towering  chffs,  craggy- 
spurs,  and  deep-cut  crevices,  became  doubly 
impressive  to  us,  as  we  reflected  that  we  were 
m  the  very  midst  of  the  most  savage  haunts. 
Often  will  the  lonely  traveller,  as  he  plods  his 
weary  way  in  silence,  imagine  in  each  click 
of  a  pebble,  the  snap  of  a  firelock,  and  in 
every  rebound  of  a  twig,  the  whisk  of  an 
arrow.  After  regaUng  ourselves  with  a 
draught  of  the  dehcious  beverage  which 
gushed  from  the  pure  fountain,  we  ascended 
the  rugged  heights  and  rejoined  the  caravan 
half  a  mile  beyond. 

We  had  now  a  plain  and  perfectly  distin- 
guishable track  before  us,  and  a  party  of  avant- 
couriers,  known  in  the  technical  parlance  of 
the  Prairies  as  '  runners,'  soon  began  to  make 
preparations  for  pushing  forward  in  advance 
of  the  caravan  into  Santa  Fe,  though  we  were 
yet  more  than  two  hundred  miles  from  that 
city.  It  is  customary  for  these  runners  to  take 
their  departure  from  the  caravans  in  the  night, 
in  order  to  evade  the  vigilance  of  any  enemy 
that  might  be  lurking  around  the  encamp- 
ment.     They  are    generally  proprietors  or 


PATRIOTISM  ON  THE  PRAIRIES.  89 

agents  ;  and  their  principal  purpose  is  to  pro- 
cure and  send  back  a  supply  of  provisions,  to 
secure  good  store-houses,  and  what  is  no  less 
important,  to  obtain  an  agreeable  understand- 
ing with  the  officers  of  the  custom-house. 

The  second  day  after  the  departure  of  the 
runners,  as  we  lay  encamped  at  McNees's 
creek,  the  Fourth  of  July  dawned  upon  us. 
Scarce  had  gray  twihght  brushed  his  dusky 
brow,  when  our  patriotic  camp  gave  lively ' 
demonstrations  of  that  joy  which  plays  around 
the  heart  of  every  American  on  the  anniver- 
sary of  this  triumphant  day.  The  roar  of  our 
artillery  and  rifle  platoons  resounded  from 
every  hill,  while  the  rumbling  of  the  drum 
and  the  shrill  whistle  of  the  fife,  imparted  a 
degree  of  martial  interest  to  the  scene  which 
was  well  calculated  to  stir  the  souls  of  men. 
There  was  no  hmit  to  the  huzzas  and  enthu- 
siastic ejaculations  of  our  people ;  and  at 
every  new  shout  the  dales  around  sent  forth  a 
gladsome  response.  This  anniversary  is  al- 
ways hailed  with  heart-felt  joy  by  the  way- 
farer in  the  remote  desert ;  for  here  the  strifes 
and  intrigues  of  party-spirit  are  unknown : 
nothing  intrudes,  in  these  wild  sohtudes,  to 
mar  that  harmony  of  feeling,  and  almost 
pious  exultation,  which  every  true-hearted 
American  experiences  on  this  great  day. 

The  next  day's  march  brought  us  in  front 
of  the  Rabbit-Ear  Mounds,  which  might  now 
be  seen  at  a  distance  of  eight  or  ten  miles  south 
of  us,  and  which  before  the  present  track  was 
estabUshed,  served  as  a  guide  to  travellers. 


Sd  MEXICAN  CIBOLERO. 

The  first  caravan  of  wagons  that  crossed  these 
plains,  passed  on  the  south  side  of  these 
mounds,  having  abandoned  our  present  route 
at  the  '  Cold  Spring,'  where  we  encamped  on 
the  night  of  the  1st  of  July.  Although  the 
route  we  were  travelling  swerves  somewhat 
too  much  to  the  north,  that  pursued  by  the 
early  caravans  as  stated  above,  made  still  a 
greater  circuit  to  the  south,  and  was  by  far  the 
•  most  inconvenient 

As  we  were  proceeding  on  our  march,  we 
observed  a  horseman  approaching,  who  excit- 
ed at  first  considerable  curiosity.  His  pictu- 
resque costume,  and  peculiarity  of  deport- 
ment, however,  soon  showed  him  to  be  a 
Mexican  Cibolero  or  buffalo-hunter.  These 
hardy  devotees  of  the  chase  usually  wear 
leathern  trousers  and  jackets,  and  flat  straw 
hats ;  while,  SAvung  upon  the  shoulder  of  each 
hangs  his  carcage  or  quiver  of  bow  and  ar- 
rows. The  long  handle  of  their  lance  being 
set  in  a  case,  and  suspended  by  the  side  with 
a  strap  from  the  pommel  of  the  saddle,  leaves 
the  point  wa^dng  high  over  the  head,  with  a 
tassel  of  gay  parti-colored  stuffs  dangling  at 
the  tip  of  the  scabbard.  Their  fusil,  if  they 
happen  to  have  one,  is  suspended  in  like 
manner  at  the  other  side,  with  a  stopper  in 
the  muzzle  fantastically  tasselled. 

The  Cibolero  saluted  us  with  demonstra- 
lions  of  joy;  nor  were  we  less  delighted 
at  meeting  with  him ;  for  we  were  now 
able  to  obtain  information  from  Santa  Fe, 
whence  no   news  had  been  received  since 


MOURNFUL    INTELLIGENCE.  M 

the  return  of  the  caravan  the  preceding  fall. 
Traders  and  idlers,  with  equal  curiosity, 
clustered  around  the  new  visitor ;  every  one 
who  could  speak  a  word  of  Spanish  having 
some  question  to  ask  : — "  What  prospects?" — 
"  How  are  goods  ?" — "  What  news  from  the 
South?" — while  the  more  experienced  tra- 
ders interested  themselves  chiefly  to  ascertain 
the  condition  of  the  custom-house,  and  who 
were  the  present  revenue  officers ;  for  unpro- 
pitious  changes  sometimes  occur  during  the 
absence  of  the  caravans. 

But  whatever  joy  we  at  first  experienced 
was  soon  converted  into  mourning,  by  a  piece 
of  most  melancholy  news — ^the  tragical  death 
of  a  celebrated  veteran  mountain  adventurer. 
It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  Capt 
Sublette  and  others  had  started  near  a  month 
in  advance  of  our  company.  We  had  fre- 
quently seen  their  trail,  and  once  or  twice 
had  received  some  vague  information  of  their 
whereabouts  through  the  Indians,  but  nothing 
satisfactory.  Our  visitor  now  informed  us 
that  a  captain  of  this  band  had  been  assassi- 
nated by  the  Indians ;  and  from  his  descrip- 
tion we  presumed  it  to  be  Capt.  Smith,  one 
of  the  partners, — which  was  afterwards  con- 
firmed, with  many  paiticulars  of  the  adven- 
tures of  this  company. 

Capt.  Smith  and  his  companions  were  new 
beginners  in  the  Santa  Fe  trade,  but  being 
veteran  pioneers  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
they  concluded  they  could  go  anywhere ;  and 
imprudently  set  out  without  a  single  person 


92  CAPTAIN  Sublette's  party. 

in  their  company  at  all  competent  to  guide 
them  on  the  route.  They  had  some  twenty- 
odd  wagons,  and  about  eighty  men.  There 
being  a  plain  track  to  the  Arkansas  river,  they 
did  very  well  thus  far ;  but  from  thence  to 
the  Cimarron^  not  a  single  trail  was  to  be 
found,  save  the  innumerable  buffalo  paths, 
with  which  these  plains  are  furrowed,  and 
which  are  exceedingly  perplexinp'  to  the  be- 
wildered prairie  traveller.  In  a  great  many 
places  which  I  have  observed,  they  have  all 
the  appearance  of  immense  highways,  over 
which  entire  armies  would  seem  to  have  fre- 
quently passed.  They  generally  lead  from 
one  watering  place  to  another ;  but  as  these 
reservoirs  very  often  turn  out  to  be  dry,  the 
thirsty  traveller  who  follows  them  in  search  of 
water,  is  liable  to  constant  disappointment. 

When  Capt.  Sublette's  party  entered  this 
arid  plain,  it  was  parched  with  drought ;  and 
they  were  doomed  to  wander  about  for  seve- 
ral days,  with  all  the  horrors  of  a  death  from 
thirst  staring  them  continually  in  the  face. 
In  this  perilous  situation,  Capt.  Smith  resolved 
at  last  to  pursue  one  of  these  seductive  buffalo 
paths,  in  hopes  it  might  lead  to  the  margin 
of  some  stream  or  pond.  He  set  out  alone  ; 
for  besides  the  temerity  which  desperation 
always  inspires,  he  had  ever  been  a  stranger 
to  fear ;  indeed,  he  was  one  of  the  most  un- 
daunted spirits  that  had  ever  traversed  the 
Rocky  Mountains ;  and  if  but  one-half  of 
what  has  been  told  of  him  be  true, — of  his 
bold  enterprises — his  perilous  wanderings — 


MASSACRE    OF    CAPTAIN    SMITH.  93 

his  skirmishings  with  the  savages — his  hair- 
breadth escapes,  etc. — ^he  would  surely  be 
entitled  to  one  of  the  most  exalted  seats  in 
the  Olympus  of  Prairie  mythology.  But, 
alas !  unfortunate  Captain  Smith  !  after  hav- 
ing so  often  dodged  the  arrrow  and  eluded 
the  snare  of  the  wUy  Mountain  Indian,  little 
could  he  have  thought,  while  jogging  along 
under  a  scorchmg  sun,  that  his  bones  were 
destined  to  bleach  upon  those  arid  sands ! 
He  had  already  wandered  many  miles  away 
from  his  comrades,  when,  on  turning  over 
an  eminence,  his  eyes  were  joyfully  greeted 
with  the  appearance  of  a  small  stream 
meandering  through  the  valley  that  spread 
before  him.  It  was  the  Cimarron.  He 
hurried  forward  to  slake  the  fire  of  his 
parched  lips — but,  imagine  his  disappoint- 
ment, at  finding  in  the  channel  only  a  bed 
of  dry  sand !  With  his  hands,  however, 
he  soon  scratched  out  a  basin  a  foot  or  two 
deep,  into  which  the  water  slowly  oozed  from 
the  saturated  sand.  While  with  his  head 
bent  down,  in  the  effort  to  quench  his  burn- 
ing thirst  in  the  fountain,  he  was  pierced  by 
the  arrows  of  a  gang  of  Comanches,  who 
were  lying  in  wait  for  him !  Yet  he  struggled 
bravely  to  the  last ;  and,  as  the  Indians  them- 
selves have  since  related,  killed  two  or  three 
of  their  party  before  he  was  overpowered. 

Every  kind  of  fatality  seems  to  have  at- 
tended this  little  caravan.  Among  other 
calamities,  we  also  learned  that  a  clerk  in  their 
company,  named  Minter,  had  been  killed  by 


i§-  TEMERITY    OF    HUNTERS. 

a  band  of  Pawnees,  before  they  crossed  the 
Arkansas.  This,  I  behe ve,  is  the  only  instance 
of  loss  of  life  among  the  traders  while  en- 
gaged in  hunting :  although  the  scarcity  of 
accidents  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  the  result 
of  prudence.  There  is  not  a  day,  from  the 
time  a  caravan  reaches  the  *  buffalo  range,' 
that  hunters  do  not  commit  some  indiscretion, 
such  as  straying  at  a  distance  of  five  and  even 
ten  ndles  from  the  caravan,  frequently  alone, 
and  seldom  in  bands  of  more  than  two  or 
three  together.  In  this  state,  they  must  fre- 
quently be  spied  by  prowling  savages ;  so 
that  the  frequency  of  escape,  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, must  be  partly  attributed  to  the 
cowardice  of  the  Indians :  indeed,  generally 
speaking,  the  latter  are  very  loth  to  charge 
upon  even  a  single  armed  man,  unless  they 
can  take  him  at  a  decided  disadvantage. 
Therefore,  it  is  at  all  times  imprudent  to  fire 
at  the  first  approach  of  Indians ;  for,  seeing 
their  guns  empty,  the  savages  would  charge 
upon  them  ;  while  very  small  bands  of  hun- 
ters have  been  known  to  keep  large  numbers 
of  the  enemy  at  bay,  by  presenting  their  rifles, 
but  reserving  their  fire,  till  assistance  was  at 
hand. 

The  companions  of  Capt.  Smith,  having 
descended  upon  the  Cimarron  at  another 
point,  appear  to  have  remained  ignorant  of 
the  terrible  fate  that  had  befallen  him,  until 
they  were  informed  of  the  circumstances  by 
some  Mexican  traders,  who  had  ascertained 
the  facts  from  the  murderoils  savages  them- 


RECRUIT    OF    BREAD.  95 

selves.  Not  long  after,  this  band  of  Capt 
Sublette  very  narrowly  escaped  a  total  destruc- 
tion. They  had  fallen  in  with  that  immense 
horde  of  Blackfeet  and  Gros  Ventres,  with 
whom  we  afterwards  met,  and,  as  the  traders 
were  hterally  but  a  handful  among  their  thou- 
sands, they  fancied  themselves  for  awhile  in 
imminent  peril  of  being  virtually  *  eaten  up.' 
But  as  Capt.  Sublette  possessed  considerable 
experience,  he  was  at  no  loss  how  to  deal 
with  these  treacherous  savages;  so  that  al- 
though the  latter  assumed  a  menacing  atti- 
tude, he  passed  them  without  any  serious 
molestation,  and  finally  arrived  at  Santa  Fe 
in  safety. 

But  to  return  to  our  Cibolero.  He  was  de- 
sirous to  sell  us  some  provisions,  which,  by 
the  by,  were  welcome  enough ;  for  most  of 
the  company  were  out  of  bread,  and  meat 
was  becoming  very  scarce,  having  seen  but 
few  buffalo  since  our  first  encounter  with  the 
Indians  on  the  Cimarron.  Our  visitor  soon 
retired  to  his  camp  hard  by,  and,  with  several 
of  his  comrades,  afterwards  brought  us  an 
abundance  of  dry  buffalo  beef,  and  some 
bags  of  coarse  oven-toasted  loaves,  a  kind 
of  hard  bread,  much  used  by  Mexican  travel- 
lers. It  is  prepared  by  opening  the  ordinary 
leavened  rolls,  and  toasting  them  brown  in  an 
oven.  Though  exceedingly  hard  and  insipid 
while  dry,  it  becomes  not  only  soft  but  pala- 
table when  soaked  in  water — or  better  still  in 
'  hot  coffee.'  But  what  we  procured  on  this 
occasion  was  unusually  stale  and  coarse,  pre- 


96  CIBOLEROS MEAT-CURING. 

pared  expressly  for  barter  with  the  Coman- 
ches,  in  case  they  should  meet  any  :  yet 
bread  was  bread,  emphatically,  with  us  just 
then. 

A  word  concerning  the  Ciholeros  may  not 
be  altogether  uninteresting.  Every  year,  large 
parties  of  New-Mexicans,  some  provided 
with  mules  and  asses,  others  with  carretas  or 
truckle-carts  and  oxen,  drive  out  into  these 
prairies  to  procure  a  supply  of  buffalo  beef 
for  their  families.  They  hunt,  like  the  wild 
Indians,  chiefly  on  horseback,  and  with  bow 
and  arrow,  or  lance,  with  which  they  soon 
load  their  carts  and  mules.  They  find  no 
difficulty  in  curing  their  meat  even  in  mid- 
summer, by  sUcing  it  thin  and  spreading  or 
suspending  it  in  the  sun  ;  or,  if  in  haste,  it  is 
sUghtly  barbecued.  During  the  curing  opera- 
tion they  often  follow  the  Indian  practice  of 
beating  or  kneading  the  slices  with  their  feet, 
which  they  contend  contributes  to  its  preser- 
vation. 

Here  the  extraordinary  purity  of  the  atmos- 
phere is  remarkably  exemplified.  The  cara- 
vans cure  meat  in  the  same  simple  manner, 
except  the  process  of  kneading.  A  line  is 
stretched  from  corner  to  corner  on  each  side 
of  a  wagon-body,  and  strung  with  slices  of 
beef^  which  remains  from  day  to  day  till  it  is 
sufficiently  cured  to  be  stacked  away.  This 
is  done  without  salt,  and  yet  it  very  rarely 
putrifies..  Besides,  as  blow-flies  are  un- 
known here,  there  is  nothing  to  favor  putre- 
faction.     While  speaking  of  flies,  I  might 


^^,,     THE    ROUND    MOUND^,^  J(7 

as  well  remark,  that,  after  passing  beyond 
the  region  of  the  tall  grass,  between  the 
Missouri  frontier  and  Arkansas  river,  the 
horse-fly  also  is  unknown.  Judging  from  the 
prairies  on  our  border,  we  had  naturally  an- 
ticipated a  great  deal  of  mischief  from  these 
brute-tormentors;  in  which  we  were  very 
agreeably  disappointed. 

But  I  have  not  yet  done  with  the  meat- 
curing  operations.  While  ifi  the  midst  of  the 
buffalo  range,  travellers  usually  take  the  pre- 
caution of  laying  up  a  supply  of  beef  for  ex- 
igencies in  the  absence  of  the  ^  prairie  cattle.' 
We  had  somewhat  neglected  this  provision  in 
time  of  abundance,  by  which  we  had  come  near 
being  reduced  to  extremities.  Caravans  some- 
times lie  by  a  day  or  two  to  provide  a  supply  of 
meat ;  when  numbers  of  buffalo  are  slaugh- 
tered, and  the  flesh  'jerked,'  or  shghtly  barbe- 
cued, by  placing  it  upon  a  scaffold  over  a  fire. 
The  same  method  is  resorted  to  by  Mexi- 
cans when  the  weather  is  too  damp  or  cloudy 
for  the  meat  to  dry  in  the  open  air. 

We  were  now  approaching  the  'Round 
Mound,'  a  beautiful  round-topped  cone,  rising 
nearly  a  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
plain  by  which  it  is  for  the  most  part  sur- 
rounded. We  were  yet  at  least  three  miles 
from  this  mound,  when  a  party  set  out  on  foot 
to  ascend  it,  in  order  to  get  a  view  of  the  sur- 
rounding country.  They  felt  confident  it  was 
but  half  a  mile  off — at  most,  three-quarters ; 
but  finding  the  distance  so  much  greater  than 
they  had  anticipated,  many  began  to  lag  be- 

9 


98  ATMOSPHERICAL    PHENOMENA. 

hind,  and  soon  rejoined  the  wagons.  The 
optical  illusions  occasioned  by  the  rarified  and 
transparent  atmosphere  of  these  elevated 
plains,  are  often  truly  remarkable,  affording 
another  exemphfication  of  its  purity.  One 
would  almost  fancy  himself  looking  through 
a  spy-glass,  for  objects  frequently  appear  at 
scarce  one-fourth  of  their  real  distance — ^fre- 
quently much  magnified,  and  more  especially 
elevated.  I  have  often  seen  flocks  of  ante- 
lopes mistaken  for  droves  of  elks  or  wild  iior- 
ses,  and  when  at  a  great  distance,  even  for 
horsemen ;  whereby  frequent  alarms  are  oc- 
casioned. I  have  also  known  tufts  of  grass 
or  weeds,  or  mere  buffalo  bones  scattered  on 
the  prairies,  to  stretch  upward  to  the  height  of 
several  feet,  so  as  to  present  the  appearance 
of  so  many  human  beings.  Ravens  in  the 
same  way  are  not  unfrequently  taken  for  In- 
dians, as  well  as  for  buffalo ;  and  a  herd  of 
the  latter  upon  a  distant  plain  often  appear, 
so  increased  in  bulk  that  they  would  be  mis- 
taken by  the  inexperienced  for  a  grove  of 
trees.  This  is  usually  attended  with  a  con- 
tinual waving  and  looming,  which  often  so 
v^Tithe  and  distort  distant  objects  as  to  render 
them  too  indistinct  to  be  discriminated.  The 
illusion  seems  to  be  occasioned  by  gaseous 
vapors  rising  from  the  ground  while  the 
beaming  rays  of  the  sun  are  darting  upon  it 

But  the  most  curious,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  most  perplexing  phenomenon,  occasioned 
by  optical  deception,  is  the  mirage^  or,  as  fa- 
miharly  called  upon  the  Prairies,  the  '  false 


MIRAGE    OR    '  FALSE    PONDS.'  9A 

ponds.'  Even  the  experienced  traveller  is  often 
deceived  by  these  upon  the  arid  plains,  where 
a  disappointment  is  most  severely  felt.  The 
thirsty  wayfarer,  after  jogging  for  hours  under 
a  burning  sky,  at  length  espies  a  pond — yes, 
it  must  be  water — it  looks  too  natural  for  him 
to  be  mistaken.  He  quickens  his  pace,  en- 
joying in  anticipation  the  pleasure  of  a  re- 
freshing draught :  but  lo  !  as  he  approaches, 
it  recedes  or,  entirely  disappears  ;  and  when 
upon  its  apparent  site,  he  is  ready  to  doubt  his 
own  vision — he  finds  but  a  parched  plain  un- 
der his  feet.  It  is  not  until  he  has  been  thus 
a  dozen  times  deceived,  that  he  is  wilhng  to 
relinquish  the  pursuit :  and  then,  perhaps, 
when  he  really  does  see  a  pond,  he  will  pass 
it  unexamined,  for  fear  of  another  disappoint- 
ment. 

The  philosophy  of  these  '  false  ponds'  seems 
generally  not  well  understood.  They  have 
usually  been  attributed  to  refraction,  by  which 
a  section  of  the  bordering  sky  would  appear 
below  the  horizon :  but  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  they  are  the  effect  of  rejection,  upon  a 
gas  emanating  perhaps  from  the  sun-scorched 
earth  and  vegetable  matter.  Or  it  may  be 
that  a  surcharge  of  carbonic  acid,  precipitated 
upon  the  flats  and  sinks  of  those  plains,  by  the 
action  of  the  sun,  produces  the  effect.  At 
least,  it  appears  of  sufficient  density,  when 
viewed  very  obliquely,  to  reflect  the  objects 
beyond :  and  thus  the  opposite  sky  being  re- 
flected in  the  pond  of  gas,  gives  the  appear- 
ance of  water.     As  a  proof  that  it  is  the  effect 


100  EXTENSIVE    VIEW. 

of  reflection,  I  have  often  observed  the  dis- 
tant trees  and  hilly  protuberances  wliich  pro- 
ject above  the  horizon  beyond,  distinctly  in- 
verted in  the  '  pond ;'  whereas,  were  it  the 
result  of  refraction,  these  would  appear  erect, 
only  cast  below  the  surface.  Indeed,  many 
are  the  singular  atmospheric  phenomena  ob- 
servable upon  the  plains,  which  would  afford 
a  field  of  interesting  research  for  the  curious 
natural  philosopher. 

At  last,  some  of  the  most  persevering  of 
our  adventurers  succeeded  in  ascending  the 
summit  of  the  Round  Mound,  which  com- 
mands a  full  and  advantageous  view  of  the 
surrounding  country,  in  some  directions  to 
the  distance  of  a  hundred  miles  or  more. 
Looking  southward  a  varied  country  is  seen, 
of  hills,  plains,  mounds,  and  sandy  undula- 
tions ;  but  on  the  whole  northern  side,  exten- 
sive plains  spread  out,  studded  occasionally 
with  variegated  peaks  and  ridges.  Far  be- 
yond these,  to  the  north-westward,  and  low 
in  the  horizon  a  silvery  stripe  appears  upon 
an  azure  base,  resembling  a  list  of  chalk- 
white  clouds.  This  is  the  perennially  snow- 
capped summit  of  the  eastern  spur  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains. 

These  immense  bordering  plains,  and  even 
the  hills  with  which  they  are  interspersed,  are 
wholly  destitute  of  timber,  except  a  chance 
scattering  tree  upon  the  margins  of  the  bluffs 
and  ravines,  which  but  scantily  serves  to  varie- 
gate the  landscape.  Not  even  a  buffalo  was 
now  to  be  seen  to  relieve  the  dull  monotony 


DECREASE  OF  THE  BUFFALO.       101 

of  the  scene ;  although  at  some  seasons  (and 
particularly  in  the  fall)  these  prairies  are  liter- 
ally strewed  with  herds  of  this  animal.  Then, 
'  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands'  might  at 
times  be  seen  from  this  eminence.  But  the 
buffalo  is  a  migratory  animal,  and  even  in  the 
midst  of  the  Prairies  where  they  are  generally 
so  very  abundant,  we  sometimes  travel  for 
days  without  seeing  a  single  one  ;  though  no 
signs  of  hunter  or  Indian  can  be  discovered. 
To  say  the  truth,  however,  I  have  never  seen 
them  anywhere  upon  the  Prairies  so  abun- 
dant as  some  travellers  have  represented — in 
dense  masses,  darkening  the  whole  country. 
I  have  only  found  them  in  scattered  herds,  of 
a  few  scores,  hundreds,  or  sometimes  thou- 
sands in  each,  and  where  in  the  greatest 
numbers,  dispersed  far  and  wide;  but  with 
large  intervals  between.  Yet  they  are  very 
sensibly  and  rapidly  decreasing.  There  is  a 
current  notion  that  the  whites  frighten  them 
away ;  but,  I  would  ask,  where  do  they  go 
to  ?  To  be  sure,  to  use  a  hunter's  phrase,  they 
'  frighten  a  few  out  of  their  skins ;'  yet  for 
every  one  killed  by  the  whites,  more  than  a 
hundred,  perhaps  a  thousand,  fall  by  the  hands 
of  the  savages.  From  these,  however,  there 
is  truly  '  nowhere  to  flee ;'  for  they  follow 
them  wheresoever  they  go:  while  the  poor 
brutes  instinctively  learn  to  avoid  the  fixed 
estabhshments,  and,  to  some  degree,  the  regu- 
lar travelling  routes  of  the  whites. 

As   the   caravan   was   passing  under  the 
northern  base  of  the  Round  Mound,  it  pre- 


102  ORDER    OF    MARCH *  FORMING. 

sented  a  very  fine  and  imposing  spectacle  to 
those  who  were  upon  its  summit.  The 
wagons  marched  slowly  in  four  parallel  col- 
umns, but  in  broken  hnes,  often  at  intervals  of 
many  rods  between.  The  unceasing  '  crack, 
crack,'  of  the  wagoners'  whips,  resembUng  the 
frequent  reports  of  distant  guns,  almost  made 
one  believe  that  a  skirmish  was  actually  tak- 
ing place  between  two  hostile  parties :  and  a 
hostile  engagement  it  virtually  was  to  the  poor 
brutes,  at  least ;  for  the  merciless  application 
of  the  whip  would  sometimes  make  the  blood 
spirt  from  their  sides — and  that  often  with- 
out any  apparent  motive  of  the  wanton  carret- 
tieri,  other  than  to  amuse  themselves  with  the 
flourishing  and  loud  popping  of  their  lashes ! 
The  rear  wagons  are  usually  left  without  a 
guard ;  for  all  the  loose  horsemen  inchne  to 
be  ahead,  where  they  are  to  be  seen  moving  in 
scattered  groups,  sometimes  a  mile  or  more  in 
advance.  As  our  camp  was  pitched  but  a  mile 
west  of  the  Round  Mound,  those  who  lingered 
upon  its  summit  could  have  an  interesting 
A'iew  of  the  evolutions  of  '  forming'  the  wag- 
ons, in  which  the  drivers  by  this  time  had  be- 
come very  expert.  When  marching  four 
abreast,  the  two  exterior  lines  spread  out  and 
then  meet  at  the  front  angle  ;  while  the  two 
inner  lines  keep  close  together  until  they 
reach  the  point  of  the  rear  angle,  Avhen  they 
wheel  suddenly  out  and  close  with  the  hinder 
ends  of  the  other  two ;  thus  systematically 
concluding  a  right-lined  quadrangle,  with  a 
gap  left  at  the  rear  comer  for  the  introduction 
of  the  animals. 


UrROARIOUS    STAMPEDE.  103 

Our  encampment  was  in  a  beautiful  plain, 
but  without  water,  of  which,  however,  we  had 
had  a  good  supply  at  noon.  Our  cattle,  as 
was  the  usual  custom,  after  having  grazed 
without  for  a  few  hours,  were  now  shut  up  in 
the  pen  of  the  wagons.  Our  men  were  all 
wrapt  in  peaceful  slumber,  except  the  guard, 
who  kept  their  silent  watch  around  the  en- 
campment ;  when  all  of  a  sudden,  about  the 
ominous  hour  of  midnight,  a  tremendous  up- 
roar was  heard,  which  caused  every  man  to 
start  in  terror  from  his  blanket  couch,  with 
arms  in  hand.  Some  animal,  it  appeared, 
had  taken  fright  at  a  dog,  and  by  a  sudden 
start,  set  all  around  him  in  violent  motion : 
the  panic  spread  simultaneously  throughout 
the  pen;  and  a  scene  of  rattle,  clash,  and 
'lumbering,'  ensued,  which  far  surpassed 
everything  we  had  yet  witnessed.  A  gene- 
ral *  stampede'  {estampida,  as  the  Mexicans 
say)  was  the  result.  Notwithstanding  the 
wagons  were  tightly  bound  together,  wheel 
to  wheel,  with  ropes  or  chains,  and  several 
stretched  across  the  gaps  at  the  corners  of  the 
corral,  the  oxen  soon  burst  their  way  out ;  and 
though  mostly  yoked  in  pairs,  they  went 
scampering  over  the  plains,  as  though  Tarn 
O'Shanter's  *cutty-sark'  Nannie  had  been  at 
their  tails.  All  attempts  to  stop  them  were 
vain  ;  for  it  would  require  '  Auld  Clootie'  him- 
self to  check  the  headway  of  a  drove  of  oxen, 
when  once  thoroughly  frightened.  Early  the 
following  morning  we  made  active  exertions 
to  get  up  a  sufficient  quantity  of  teams  to  start 


104  WAGON    REPAIRS. 

the  caravan.  At  Rock  Creek,  a  distance  of 
six  or  seven  miles,  we  were  joined  by  those 
who  had  gone  in  pursuit  of  the  stock.  All 
the  oxen  were  found,  except  some  half  a 
dozen,  which  were  never  recovered.  No 
mules  were  lost :  a  few  that  had  broken  loose 
were  speedily  retaken.  The  fact  is,  that 
though  mules  are  generally  easiest  scared,  oxen 
are  decidedly  the  worst  when  once  started. 
The  principal  advantage  of  the  latter  in  tliis 
respect,  is,  that  Indians  have  but  little  induce- 
ment to  steal  them,  and  therefore  few  attempts 
would  be  made  upon  a  caravan  of  oxen. 

We  were  now  entering  a  region  of  rough, 
and  in  some  places,  rocky  road,  as  the  streams 
which  intervene  from  this  to  the  mountains 
are  all  bordered  with  fine  sandstone.  These 
rugged  passes  acted  very  severely  upon  our 
wagons,  as  the  wheels  were  by-this  time  be- 
coming loose  and  '  shackling,'  from  the  shrink 
of  the  wood,  occasioned  by  the  extreme  dry- 
ness and  rarity  of  this  elevated  atmosphere. 
The  spokes  of  some  were  beginning  to  reel 
in  the  hubs,  so  that  it  became  necessary  to 
brace  them  with  '  false  spokes,'  firmly  bound 
with  '  buffalo  tug.'  On  some  occasions,  the 
wagon  tires  have  become  so  loose  upon  the 
felloes  as  to  tumble  off'  while  travelling.  The 
most  effective  mode  of  tightening  slackened 
tires  (at  least  that  most  practised  on  the  plains, 
as  there  is  rarely  a  portable  forge  in  company), 
is  by  driving  strips  of  hoop-iron  around  be- 
tween the  tire  and  felloe — simple  wedges  of 
wood  are  sometimes  made  to  supply  the  place 


RIO    COLORADO.  105 

of  iron.  During  halts  I  have  seen  a  dozen 
wheels  being  repaired  at  the  same  time,  oc- 
casioning such  a  clitter-clatter  of  hammers, 
that  one  would  almost  fancy  himself  in  a 
ship-yard. 

Emerging  from  this  region  of  asperities,  we 
soon  passed  the  '  Point  of  Rocks/  as  a  dimi- 
nutive *spur'  projecting  from  the  north  is 
called,  at  the  foot  of  Avhich  springs  a  charming 
little  fount  of  water.  This  is  but  thirty  or 
forty  miles  from  the  principal  mountains, 
along  whose  border,  similar  detached  ridges 
and  hills  are  frequently  to  be  seen.  The  next 
day,  having  descended  from  the  table  plain, 
we  reached  the  principal  branch  of  the  Ca- 
nadian river,  which  is  here  but  a  rippling 
brook,  hardly  a  dozen  paces  in  width,  though 
eighty  miles  from  its  source  in  the  mountains 
to  the  north.  The  bottom  being  of  solid  rock, 
this  ford  is  appropriately  called  by  the  cibo- 
leros,  el  Vado  de  Piedras.  The  banks  are  very 
low  and  easy  to  ascend.  The  stream  is  called 
Rio  Colorado  by  the  Mexicans,  and  is  known 
among  Americans  by  its  literal  translation  of 
Bed  River.  This  circumstance  perhaps  gave 
rise  to  the  beUef  that  it  was  the  head  branch 
of  our  main  stream  of  this  name  :^  but  the 

*  Previous  to  the  year  1820,  this  *  Rio  Colorado'  seems  universally 
to  have  heen  considered  as  the  principal  source  of  Red  River ;  hiit 
in  the  expedition  of  Maj.  Long,  during  that  year,  he  discovered  this 
to  be  the  head  branch  of  the  Canadian.  The  discovery  cost*  him 
somewhat  dearly  too ;  for  striking  a  branch  of  the  Colora  !o  near 
the  Mountains,  he  followed  down  its  course,  believing  it  to  be  of 
the  main  Red  River.  He  was  not  fully  undeceived  till  he  arrived 
at  its  junction  with  the  Arkansas ;  whereby  he  failed  in  a  principal 
object  of  the  expedition — the  exploration  of  the  true  sources  of  *  Red 
River  of  Natchitoches  * 


108  MEXICAN    ESCORT. 

nearest  waters  of  the  legitimate  *  Red  River 
of  Natchitoches/  are  still  a  hundred  miles  to 
the  south  of  this  road. 

In  descending  to  the  Rio  Colorado,  we  met 
a  dozen  or  more  of  our  countrymen  from 
Taos,  to  which  town  (sixty  or  seventy  miles 
distant)  there  is  a  direct  but  rugged  route 
across  the  moiuitains.  It  was  a  joyous  en- 
counter, for  among  them  we  found  some  of 
our  old  acquaintances  whom  we  had  not  seen 
for  many  years.  During  our  boyhood  we  had 
'  spelt'  together  in  the  same  country  school, 
and  roamed  the  wild  woods  with  many  a 
chilj^ish  glee.  They  turned  about  with  us, 
and  the  remainder  of  our  march  was  passed 
in  answering  their  inquiries  after  their  rela- 
tives and  friends  in  the  United  States. 

Before  reaching  the  stream,  we  encountered 
another  party  of  visitors,  being  chiefly  cus- 
tom-house agents  or  clerks,  who,  accompanied 
by  a  mihtary  escort,  had  come  out  to  guard 
the  caravan  to  the  Capital.  The  ostensible 
pxirpose  of  this  escort  was  to  prevent  smug- 
gling,— a  company  of  troops  being  thus  dis- 
patched every  year,  with  strict  injunctions  to 
watch  the  caravans.  This  custom  appear? 
since  to  have  nearly  grown  out  of  use  :  and 
well  might  it  be  discontinued  altogether,  foi 
any  one  disposed  to  smuggle  would  find  no 
difficulty  in  securing  the  services  of  these 
preventive  guards,  who,  for  a  trifling  douceur. 
would  prove  very  efficient  auxiharies,  rathei 
than  obstacles  to  the  success  of  any  such  de- 
signs.    As  we  were  forming  in  the  valley  op- 


THE    DISORGANIZATION.  107 

posite  where  the  escort  was  encamped,  Col. 
Vizcarra,  the  commandant,  honored  us  with 
a  salute  from  his  artillery,  which  was  promptly- 
responded  to  by  our  little  cannon. 

Considering  ourselves  at  last  out  of  danger 
of  Indian  hostilities  (although  still  nearly  a 
hundred  and  forty  miles  from  Santa  Fe) ;  and 
not  unwilling  to  give  our  *  guard'  as  much 
trouble  as  possible,  we  abandoned  the  organi- 
zation of  our  caravan  a  few  miles  beyond  the 
Colorado ;  its  members  wending  their  way  to 
the  Capital  in  almost  as  many  detached  parties 
as  there  were  proprietors.  The  road  from  this 
to  San  Miguel  (a  town  nearly  a  hundred  miles 
distant),  leads  in  a  southwestern  direction 
along  the  base  of,  and  almost  parallel  with, 
that  spur  of  snow-clad  mountains,  which  has 
already  been  mentioned,  bearing  down  east 
of  the  Rio  del  Norte. 

This  region  is  particularly  celebrated  for 
violent  showers,  hail-storms,  and  frightful 
thunder-gusts.  The  sudden  cooling  and  con- 
traction of  the  atmosphere  which  follows 
these  falls  of  rain,  very  often  reverses  the  cur- 
rent of  the  lower  stratum  of  air ;  so  that  a 
cloud  which  has  just  ceased  pouring  its  con- 
tents and  been  wafted  away,  is  in  a  few  min- 
utes brought  back,  and  drenches  the  traveller 
with  another  torrent.  I  was  deeply  impress- 
ed with  a  scene  I  Avitnessed  in  the  summer  of 
1832,  about  two  days'  journey  beyond  the 
Colorado,  which  I  may  be  excused  for  allud- 
ing to  in  this  connection.  We  were  encamp- 
ed at  noon,  when  a  nmrky  clotid  issued  from 


108  A   THUNDERBOLT. 

behind  the  mountains,  and,  after  hovering 
over  us  for  a  few  minutes,  gave  vent  to  one 
of  those  tremendous  peals  of  thunder  which 
seem  pecuhar  to  those  regions,  making  the 
elements  tremble,  and  leaving  us  so  stunned 
and  confounded  that  some  seconds  elapsed  be- 
fore each  man  was  able  to  convince  himself 
that  he  had  not  been  struck  by  lightning.  A 
sulphureous  stench  filled  the  atmosphere ;  but 
the  thunderbolt  had  skipped  over  the  wagons 
and  Ughted  upon  the  cabaUada^  which  was 
grazing  hard  by ;  some  of  which  were  after- 
ward seen  stretched  upon  the  plain.  It  was 
not  a  little  singular  to  find  an  ox  lying  lifeless 
from  the  stroke,  while  his  mate  stood  unin- 
jured by  his  side,  and  under  the  same  yoke. 

Some  distance  beyond  the  Colorado,  a 
party  of  about  a  dozen  (which  I  joined)  left 
the  wagons  to  go  ahead  to  Santa  Fe.  Fifty 
miles  beyond  the  main  branch  of  this  stream 
we  passed  the  last  of  the  Canadian  waters, 
known  to  foreigners  as  the  Mora.^  From 
, thence  to  the  Gallinasj  the  first  of  the  Rio 
del  Norte  waters,  the  road  stretches  over  an 
elevated  plain,  unobstructed  by  any  moun- 
tainous ridge.     At  Galhnas  creek,  we  found 

*  As  mora  means  mulberry,  and  this  fruit  is  to  be  found  at  the 
mouth  of  this  stream,  one  would  suppose  that  it  had  acquired  its 
name  from  that  fact,  did  not  the  Mexicans  always  call  it  Rio  de 
lo  de  Mora,  thus  leaving  it  to  be  inferred  that  the  name  had 
originated  from  some  individual  called  Mora,  who  had  settled 
upon  it. 

t  Called  Rio  de  las  Gallinas  by  Mexicans.  Though  gallina  is 
literally  hen,  it  is  here  also  applied  to  the  turkey  (usually  with  a 
•  surname,'  £is  gallina  de  la  tierra).     It  is  therefore  Turkey  river 


FIRST    SETTLEMENT.  109 

a  large  flock  of  sheep  grazing  upon  the  adja- 
cent plain  ;  while  a  Uttle  hovel  at  the  foot  of 
a  cliff  showed  it  to  be  a  rancho,  A  swarthy 
ranchero  soon  inade  his  appearance,  from 
whom  we  procured  a  treat  of  goat's  milk, 
with  some  dirty  ewe's  milk  *  curdle  cheese'  to 
supply  the  place  of  bread. 

Some  twenty  miles  from  this  place  we  en- 
tered San  Miguel,  the  first  settlement  of  any 
note  upon  our  route.  This  consists  of  irregu- 
lar clusters  of  mud- wall  huts,  and  is  situated 
in  the  fertile  valley  of  Rio  Pecos,  a  silvery  lit- 
tle river  which  ripples  from  the  snoAvy  moun- 
tains of  Santa  Fe  — ^from  which  city  this  fron- 
tier village  is  nearly  fifty  miles  to  the  south- 
east The  road  makes  this  great  southern 
bend,  to  find  a  passway  through  the  broken 
extremity  of  the  spur  of  mountains  before  al- 
luded to,  which  from  this  point  south  is  cut  up 
into  detached  ridges  and  table  plains.  This 
mountain  section  of  the  road,  even  in  its  pre- 
sent unimproved  condition,  presents  but  few 
difficult  passes,  and  might,  with  httle  labor, 
be  put  in  good  order. 

A  few  miles  before  reaching  the  city,  the 
road  again  emerges  into  an  open  plain.  As- 
cending a  table  ridge,  we  spied  in  an  extend- 
ed valley  to  the  northwest,  occasional  groups 
of  trees,  skirted  with  verdant  corn  and  wheat 
fields,  with  here  and  there  a  square  block- 
like protuberance  reared  in  the  midst.  A  little 
further,  and  just  ahead  of  us  to  the  north, 
irregular  clusters  of  the  same  opened  to  our 
view.     "  Oh,  we   are  approaching  the   sub- 

10 


110  ARRIVAL    OF    THE    CARAVAN. 

urbs !"  thought  I,  on  perceiving  the  cornfields, 
and  what  I  supposed  to  be  brick-kilns  scatter- 
ed in  every  direction.  These  and  other  ob- 
servations of  the  same  nature  becoming  audi- 
ble, a  friend  at  my  elbow  said,  "  It  is  true 
those  are  heaps  of  unburnt  bricks,  neverthe- 
less   they    are    houses — this  is  the   city   of 

SaxNTA   Fe/' 

Five  or  six  days  after  our  arrival,  the  cara- 
van at  last  hove  in  sight,  and  wagon  after 
wagon  was  seen  pouring  down  the  last  decU- 
vity  at  about  a  miles  distance  from  the  city. 
To  judge  from  the  clamorous  rejoicings  of 
the  men,  and  the  state  of  agreeable  excite- 
ment which  the  muleteers  seemed  to  be 
laboring  under,  the  spectacle  must  have  been 
as  new  to  them  as  it  had  been  to  me.  It  was 
truly  a  scene  for  the  artist's  pencil  to  revel  in. 
Even  the  animals  seemed  to  participate  in  the 
humor  of  their  riders,  who  grew  more  and 
more  merry  and  obstreperous  as  they  descend- 
ed towards  the  city.  I  doubt,  in  short,  whe- 
ther the  first  sight  of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem 
were  beheld  by  the  crusaders  with  much 
more  tumultuous  and  soul-enrapturing  joy. 

The  arrival  produced  a  great  deal  of  bustle 
and  excitement  among  the  natives.  ''Los 
Americanos  !  " — "  Los  carros  !  " — "  La  entrada 
de  la  caravanaV  were  to  be  heard  in  every 
direction ;  and  crowds  of  women  and  boys 
flocked  around  to  see  the  new-comers ;  while 
crowds  of  leperos  hung  about  as  usual  to  see 
what  they  could  pilfer.  The  wagoners  were 
by  no  means  free  from  excitement  on  this  oc- 


TOILET   AND    RECREATIONS.  Ill 

casion.  Liformed  of  the  *  ordeal'  they  had  to 
pass,  they  had  spent  the  previous  morning  in 
'  rubbing  up  ;'  and  now  they  were  prepared, 
with  clean  faces,  sleek  combed  hair,  and  their 
choicest  Sunday  suit,  to  meet  the  '  fair  eyes ' 
of  glistening  black  that  were  sure  to  stare  at 
them  as  they  passed.  There  was  yet  another 
preparation  to  be  made  in  order  to  ^  show  off* 
to  advantage.  Each  wagoner  must  tie  a  bran 
new  '  cracker'  to  the  lash  of  his  whip  ;  for,  on 
driving  through  the  streets  and  the  plaza  pub- 
lica,  every  one  strives  to  outvie  his  comrades 
in  the  dexterity  with  which  lie  flourishes  this 
favorite  badge  of  his  authority. 

Our  wagons  were  soon  discharged  in  the 
ware-rooms  of  the  Custom-house ;  and  a  few 
days'  leisure  being  now  at  our  disposal,  we 
had  time  to  take  that  recreation  which  a  fa- 
tiguing journey  of  ten  weeks  had  rendered  so 
necessary.  The  wagoners,  and  many  of  the 
traders,  particularly  the  novices,  flocked  to  the 
numerous  fandangoes,  which  are  regularly 
kept  up  after  the  arrival  of  a  caravan.  But 
the  merchants  generally  were  anxiously  and 
actively  engaged  in  their  affairs — striving  who 
should  first  get  his  goods  out  of  the  custom- 
house, and  obtain  a  chance  at  the  '  hard  chink' 
of  the  numerous  country  dealers,  who  annu- 
ally resort  to  the  capital  on  these  occasions. 

Now  comes  the  harvest  for  those  idle  in- 
terpreters, who  make  a  business  of  '  passing 
goods,'  as  they  term  it;  for  as  but  a  small  por- 
tion of  the  traders  are  able  to  write  the  Span- 
ish language,   they   are   obUged   to   employ 


112  CUSTOM-HOUSE   ARRANGEMENTS. 

these  legal  go-betweens,  who  pledge  them- 
selves, for  a  stipulated  fee,  to  make  the  '  ar- 
rangem.ents,'  and  translate  the  7nanifiestos 
(that  is,  bills  of  merchandise  to  be  r)ianifested 
at  the  custom-house),  and  to  act  the  part 
of  interpreters  throughout. 

The  inspection  ensues,  but  this  is  rarely 
carried  on  with  rigid  adherence  to  rules  ;  for 
an  'actuated  sympathy'  for  the  merchants, 
and  a  *  specific  desire'  to  promote  the  trade, 
cause  the  inspector  to  open  a  few  of  such 
packages  only,  as  will  exhibit  the  least  dis- 
crepancy with  the  manifest. 

The  derechos  de  arancel  (tariff  imposts)  of 
Mexico  are  extremely  oppressive,  averaging 
about  a  hundred  per  cent,  upon  the  United 
States'  cost  of  an  ordinary  '  Santa  Fe  assort- 
ment' Those  on  cotton  textures  are  particu- 
larly so.  According  to  the  Arancel  of  1837 
(and  it  was  still  heavier  before),  all  plain-wove 
cottons,  whether  white  or  printed,  pay  twelve 
and  a  half  cents  duty  per  vara^  besides  the 
derecho  de  consmno  (consumption  duty),  which 
brings  it  up  to  at  least  fifteen.  But  it  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  there  are  be- 
lieved to  be  very  few  ports  in  the  Republic 
at  which  these  rigid  exactions  are  strictly  exe- 
cuted. An  '  arrangement' — a  compromise  is 
expected,  in  which  the  officers  are  sure  at 
least  to  provide  for  themselves.  At  some 
ports,  a  custom  has  been  said  to  prevail,  of 
dividing  the  legal  duties  into  three  equal 
parts :  one  for  the  officers — a  second  for  the 
merchants — ^the  other  for  the  government. 


ARMIJO'S    IMPOST.  113 

For  a  few  years,  Gov.  Armijo  of  Santa  Fe, 
established  a  tariff  of  his  own,  entirely  arbi- 
trary,— exacting  five  hundred  dollars  for  each 
wagon-load,  whether  large  or  small — of  fine 
or  coarse  goods !  Of  course  this  was  very 
advantageous  to  such  traders  as  had  large 
wagons  and  costly  assortments,  wlnle  it  was 
no  less  onerous  to  those  with  smaller  vehicles 
or  coarse  heavy  goods.  As  might  have  been 
anticipated,  the  traders  soon  took  to  conveying 
their  merchandise  only  in  the  largest  wagons, 
drawn  by  ten  or  twelve  mules,  and  omitting 
the  coarser  and  more  weighty  articles  of 
trade.  This  caused  the  governor  to  return  to 
an  ad  valorem  system,  though  still  without  re- 
gard to  the  Arancel  general  of  the  nation. 
How  much  of  these  duties  found  their  way 
into  the  pubhc  treasury,  I  will  not  venture  to 
assert. 

The  arrival  of  a  caravan  at  Santa  Fe 
changes  the  aspect  of  the  place  at  once.  In- 
stead of  the  idleness  and  stagnation  which  its 
streets  exhibited  before,  one  now  sees  every- 
where the  bustle,  noise  and  activity  of  a  lively 
market  town.  As  the  Mexicans  very  rarely 
speak  English,  the  negotiations  are  mostly 
conducted  in  Spanish. 

Taking  the  circuit  of  the  stores,  I  found 
they  usually  contained  general  assortments, 
much  hke  those  to  be  met  with  in  the  retail 
variety  stores  of  the  west.  The  stocks  of  the 
inexperienced  merchants  are  apt  to  abound 
in  unsalable  goods — niulas,  as  the  Mexicans 
figuratively  term  them. 

10* 


114 

Although  a  fair  variety  of  dry  goods,  silks, 
hardware,  &c.,  is  to  be  found  in  this  mar- 
ket, domestic  cottons,  both  bleached  and 
brown,  constitute  the  great  staple,  of  which 
nearly  equal  quantities  ought  to  enter  into  a 
*  Santa  Fe  assortment'  The  demand  for 
these  goods  is  such  that  at  least  one  half  of 
our  stocks  of  merchandise  is  made  up  of 
them.  However,  although  they  afford  a 
greater  nominal  per  centum  than  many  other 
articles,  the  profits  are  reduced  by  their 
freight  and  heavy  duty.  In  all  the  Southern 
markets,  where  they  enter  into  competition, 
there  is  a  decided  preference  given  to  the 
American  manufactures  over  the  British,  as 
the  former  are  more  heavy  and  durable.  The 
demand  for  calicoes  is  also  considerable,  but 
this  kind  of  goods  affords  much  less  profit. 
The  quantity  in  an  assortment  should  be 
about  equal  to  half  that  of  domestics.  Cot- 
ton velvets,  and  drilhngs  (whether  bleached, 
brown  or  blue,  and  especially  the  latter),  have 
also  been  in  much  request.  But  all  the 
coarser  cotton  goods,  whether  shirtings,  caU- 
coes  or  drillings,  &c.,  were  prohibited  by  the 
Arancel  of  1S37  ;  and  still  continue  to  be, 
with  some  modifications. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Sketches  of  the  Early  History  of  Santa  Fe — First  Explorations 
— Why  called  New  Mexico — Memorial  of  Oiiate — His  Colony 
— Captain  Leyva's  prior  Settlement — Singular  Stipulations  of 
Oiiate — Incentives  presented  by  the  Crown  to  Colonizers — - 
Enormities  of  Spanish  Conquerors  —  Progress  of  the  new 
Colony— Cruel  Labors  of  the  Aborigines  in  the  mines — Re- 
volt of  the  Indians  in  1680 — Massacre  of  the  Spaniards — Santa 
Fe  Besieged — Battles — Remaining  Spanish  Population  finally 
evacuate  the  Province — Paso  del  Norte — Inhuman  Murder  ol 
a  Spanish  Priest — Final  Recovery  of  the  Country — Insurrec- 
tion of  1837 — A  Prophecy — Shocking  Massacre  of  the  Gover- 
nor and  other  distinguished  Characters  —  American  Mer- 
chants, and  Neglect  of  our  Government  —  Governor  Armijo  : 
his  Intrigues  and  Success — Second  Gathering  of  Insurgents  and 
their  fi.nal  Defeat. 

Having  resided  for  nearly  nine  years  in 
Northern  Mexico,  and  enjoyed  opportunities 
for  observation  which  do  not  always  fall  to  the 
lot  of  a  trader,  it  has  occurred  to  me  that  a 
few  sketches  of  the  country — the  first  settle- 
ments— tlie  early,  as  well  as  more  recent 
struggles  with  the  aboriginal  inhabitants — 
their  traditions  and  antiquities — together  Avith 
some  account  of  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  people,  etc.,  would  not  be  altogether 
unacceptable  to  the  reader.  The  dearth  of 
information  which  has  hitherto  prevailed  on 
this  subject,  is  my  best  apology  for  traveUing 


116  ANTIQUITY    OF    SANTA  >£. 

out  of  my  immediate  track,  and  trespassing 
as  it  were  upon  the  department  of  the  regular 
liistorian. 

The  province  of  New  Mexico,  of  which 
Santa  Fe,  the  capital,  was  one  of  the  first 
estabhshments,  dates  among  the  earhest 
settlements  made  in  America.  By  some 
traditions  it  is  related  that  a  small  band  of 
adventurers  proceeded  thus  far  north  shortly 
after  the  capture  of  the  city  of  Mexico  by 
Hernan  Cortes.  The  historian  Mariana 
speaks  of  some  attempts  having  been  made, 
during  the  career  of  this  renowned  chieftain 
in  America,  to  conquer  and  take  possession  of 
these  regions.  This,  hoAvever,  is  somewhat 
doubtful;  for  it  is  hardly  probable  that  the 
Spaniards,  with  all  their  mania  for  gold,  would 
have  pushed  their  conquests  two  thousand 
miles  into  the  interior  at  so  early  a  day,  tra- 
versing the  settlements  of  hostile  savages,  and 
leaving  unexplored  intermediate  regions,  not 
only  more  beautiful,  but  far  more  productive 
of  the  precious  metals. 

Herrera,  writing  of  the  events  of  1550, 
mentions  New  Mexico  as  a  known  province 
lying  north  of  New  Gahcia,  though  as  yet  only 
inhabited  by  the  aborigines.  It  was  probably 
called  New  Mexico  from  the  resemblance  of 
its  inhabitants  to  those  of  the  city  of  Mexico 
and  its  environs.  They  appear  to  have  assi- 
milated in  their  habits,  their  agriculture,  their 
manufactures  and  their  houses ;  while  those 
of  the  intermediate  country  (the  Chichimecos, 
&c.)  were  in  a  much  ruder  state,  leading  a 


FIRST    COLONY.  117 

more  wandering  life,  and  possessing  much 
less  knowledge  of  agriculture,  arts,  etc. 

The  only  paper  found  hi  the  archives  at 
Santa  Fe  which  gives  any  clue  to  the  first 
settlement  of  New  Mexico,  is  the  memoriEd 
of  one  Don  Juan  de  Ofiate,  a  citizen  of  Zaca- 
tecas,  dated  September  21,  1595,  of  which  I 
have  been  furnished  with  a  copy  through  the 
pohteness  of  Don  Guadalupe  Miranda,  Secre- 
tary of  State  at  Santa  Fe.  This  petition 
prayed  for  the  permission  and  assistance  of 
the  vice-regal  government  at  Mexico,  to  esta- 
blish a  colony  on  the  Rio  del  Norte  in  the  re- 
gion aheady  known  as  New  Mexico ;  which 
having  been  granted,  it  was  carried  into  effect, 
as  I  infer  from  the  documents,  durmg  the  fol- 
lowing spring. 

This  appears  to  have  been  the  first  legal 
colony  established  in  the  pro\ince ;  yet  we 
gather  from  different  clauses  in  Ofiate's  me- 
morial, that  an  adventurer  known  as  Captain 
Francisco  de  Leyva  Bonillo  had  previously 
entered  the  province  with  some  followers, 
without  the  king's  permission,  whom  Orate 
was  authorized  to  aiTest  and  punish.  Some 
historians  invsist  that  New  Mexico  was  first 
visited  by  a  few  missionaries  in  1581 ;  and 
there  is  a  tradition  in  the  country  which  fixes 
the  first  settlement  in  1583 — bothha\dng  refe- 
rence no  doubt  to  the  party  of  Leyva. 

Ofiate  bound  himself  to  take  into  New 
Mexico  two  hundred  soldiers,  and  a  sufficien- 
cy of  provisions  for  the  first  year's  support  of 
the  colony ;  with  abundance  of  horses,  black 


118  MODEST    DEMANDS. 

cattle,  sheep,  etc.,  as  also  merchandise, 
agricultural  utensils,  tools  and  materials  for 
mechanics'  purposes;  and  all  at  his  own 
cost,  or  rather  at  the  ultimate  expense  of  the 
colonists. 

Thus  adventurer,  in  the  course  of  his  me- 
morial, also  stipulates  for  some  extraordinary 
pro\  isions  on  the  part  of  the  l^ng :  such  as, 
artillery  and  other  ai-ms,  ammunitions,  etc. — 
six  priests,  with  a  full  complement  of  books,^ 
ornaments  and  church  accoutrements — a  loan 
of  $20,000  from  the  royal  treasury — a  grant 
of  thirty  leagues  square  of  land  wheresoever 
he  might  choose  to  select  it,  with  all  the  vas- 
sals (Indians)  residing  upon  it — his  family  to 
be  ennobled,  with  the  hereditary  title  of  Mar- 
quis— the  office  of  Grovernor,  with  the  titles 
of  Adehntado  and  the  rank  of  Captain-gene- 
ral for  four  generations — a  salary  of  8,000  du- 
cats of  Castile  per  annum — the  privilege  of 
working  mines  exempt  from  the  usual  crown- 
tax — permission  to  parcel  out  the  aborigines 
among  his  officers  and  men ;  and,  besides 
other  favors  to  his  brothers  and  relatives,  to 
have  "  Lidians  recommended  to  their  charge," 
which,  in  other  words,  was  the  privilege  of 
making  slaves  of  them  to  work  in  the  mines 
— with  many  other  distinctions,  immunities 
and  powers  to  himself,  sufficient  to  establish 
him  in  an  authority  far  more  despotic  than 
any  modern  monarch  of  Europe  would  ven- 
ture to  assume.  And  although  tliese  exorbi- 
tant demands  were  not  all  conceded,  they 
go  to  demonstrate  by  what  incentives  of  pecu- 


OXATe's    MEMORfAL.  119 

niary  interest,  as  well  as  of  honors,  the  Spanish 
monarchs  sought  the  "  descubrimiento^  pacific 
cacion  y  conversion^^^  as  they  modestly  termed 
it,  of  the  poor  aborigines  of  America. 

The  memorial  referred  to  is  extremely 
lengthy,  being  encumbered  with  numerous 
marginal  notes,  each  containing  the  decree  of 
assent  or  dissent  of  the  Viceroy.  All  this, 
however,  serves  rather  to  illustrate  the  an- 
cient manners  and  customs  of  the  Spaniards 
in  those  feudal  days — ^the  formalities  observed 
in  undertaking  an  exploring  and  christianiz- 
ing enterprise — than  to  afford  any  historical 
data  of  the  expedition. 

In  every  part  of  this  singular  document 
there  may  be  traced  evidences  of  that  sordid 
lust  for  gold  and  power,  which  so  disgraced 
all  the  Spanish  conquests  in  America ;  and 
that  religious  fanaticism — that  crusading  spirit, 
which  martyrized  so  many  thousands  of  the 
aborigines  of  the  New  World  under  Spanish 
authority. 

But  to  return  to  Ofiate  :  In  one  article,  this 
adventurer,  or  contractor,  or  whatever  else  we 
may  choose  to  call  him,  inquires,  "In  case 
the  natives  are  unwilling  to  come  quietly  to 
the  acknowledgment  of  the  true  Christian 
faith,  and  hsten  to  the  evangelical  word,  and 
give  obedience  to  the  king  our  sovereign,  what 
shall  be  done  A\dth  them  ?  that  we  may  pro- 
ceed according  to  the  laws  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  the  ordinances  of  his  Majesty. 
And  what  tributes,  that  they  may  be  chris- 
tianly  borne,  shall  be  imposed  upon  them,  as 


120  SPANISH    CHRISTIANIZATION. 

well  for  the  crown  as  for  the  adventurers  ?'' — 
showing  that  these  *  missionaries'  (as  they 
were  wont  to  call  themselves)  not  only  rob- 
bed the  Indians  of  their  country  and  treasure, 
and  made  menial  slaves  of  them,  but  exacted 
tribute  beside — promulgated  the  gospel  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet,  and  administered  bap- 
tism by  force  of  arms — compelling  them  to 
acknowledge  the  '  apostolic  Roman  CathoUc 
faith,'  of  which  th^y  had  not  the  slightest  idea. 
Cervantes,  who  wrote  his  Don  Quixote  about 
this  time,  no  doubt  intended  to  make  a  hit 
at  this  cruel  spirit  of  religious  bigotry,  by 
making  his  hero  command  his  captives  to  ac- 
knowledge the  superiority  of  his  Dulcinea's 
beauty  over  that  of  all  others ;  and  when  they 
protest  that  they  have  never  seen  her,  he  de- 
clares, that  "  the  importance  consists  in  this — 
that  without  seeing  her,  you  have  it  to  believe, 
confess,  affirro,  swear  and  defend." 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  there  are  no 
records  to  be  found  of  the  wars  and  massa- 
cres, the  numberless  incidents  and  wild  ad- 
ventures which  one  would  presume  to  have 
occurred  during  the  first  three-quarters  of  a 
century  of  the  colonization  of  New  Mexico. 
It  is  probable,  however,  that,  as  the  aborigi- 
nes seem  to  have  been  at  first  of  a  re- 
markably pacific  and  docile  character,  the 
conqueror  met  with  but  httle  difficulty  in 
carrying  out  his  original  plans  of  settlement. 
Quietly  acquiescing  in  both  the  civil  and  re- 
ligious authority  of  the  invaders,  the  yoke  was 
easily  riveted  upon  them,  as  they  had  neither 


HIDDEN    MINES.  121 

intelligence  nor  spirit  to  resist,  until  goaded  to 
desperation. 

The  colony  had  progressed  very  rapidly, 
the  settlements  extending  into  every  quarter 
of  the  territory — villages,  and  even  towns  of 
considerable  importance  were  reared  in  re- 
mote sections ;  of  which  there  now  remain 
but  the  ruins,  with  scarce  a  tradition  to  tell 
the  fate  of  the  once  flourishing  population. 
Many  valuable  mines  were  discovered  and 
worked,  as  tradition  relates,  the  locations  of 
which  have  been  lost,  or  (as  the  Mexicans 
say)  concealed  by  the  Indians,  in  order  to 
prevent  a  repetition  of  the  brutal  outrages 
they  had  suffered  in  them.  Whether  this 
was  the  case  or  not,  they  surely  had  cause 
enough  for  wishing  to  conceal  those  with 
which  they  were  acquainted ;  for  in  these 
very  mines  they  had  been  forced  to  perform, 
under  the'  lash,  the  most  laborious  tasks,  till 
human  strength  could  endure  no  more.  Even 
then,  perhaps,  they  would  not  have  ventured 
upon  resistance,  but  for  the  instigations  of  an 
eloquent  warrior  from  a  distant  tribe,  who 
pretended  to  have  inherited  the  power  of 
Montezuma,  of  whose  subjects  all  these  In- 
dians, even  to  the  present  day,  consider  them- 
selves the  descendants.  Tecumseh-like,  our 
hero  united  the  different  tribes,  and  laid  the 
plan  of  a  conspiracy  and  general  massacre  of 
their  oppressors;  declaring  that  all  who  did  not 
enter  into  the  plot,  should  share  the  fate 
of  the  Spaniards.  I  have  been  furnished, 
through  the  kindness  of  the  Secretary  of 
11 


122  SAVAGE    CONSPIRACY. 

State  before  mentioned,  with  an  account 
of  this  insurrection  and  consequent  mas- 
sacre of  the  Spanish  population,  taken  from 
the  journal  of  Don  Antonio  de  Otermin, 
governor  and  commandant  at  the  time, 
which  was  preserved  in  the  public  archives 
^t  Santa  Fe. 

It  appears  that  the  night  of  the  13th  of  Au- 
gust, 1680,  was  the  time  fixed  for  a  general 
insurrection  of  all  the  tribes  and  Pueblos.^  At 
a  stated  hour  the  massacre  of  the  Spanish 
population  was  to  commence.  Every  soul 
was  to  be  butchered  without  distinction  of 
sex  or  age — with  the  exception  of  such 
young  and  handsome  females  as  they  might 
wish  to  preserve  for  wives!  Although  this 
conspiracy  had  evidently  been  in  agitation  for 
a  great  while,  such  strict  secrecy  had  been 
maintained,  that  nothing  was  known  or  even 
suspected,  till  a  few  days  before  the' appointed 
time.  It  is  said  that  not  a  single  woman  was 
let  into  the  secret,  for  fear  of  endangering  the 
success  of  the  cause ;  but  it  was  finally  dis- 
closed by  two  Indian  chiefs  themselves  to  the 
governor ;  and  about  the  same  time  informa- 
tion of  the  conspiracy  was  received  from 
some  curates  and  oflScers  of  Taos. 

Gov.  Otermin,  seeing  the  perilous  situation 
of  the  country,  lost  no  time  in  dispatching 
general  orders  for  gathering  the  people  of  the 
south  into  the  Pueblo  of  Isleta,  where  the 
lieutenant-governor  was  stationed,  and  those 

*  A  general  term  for  cdl  the  Catholic  Indians  of  N.  Mexico,  and 
their  vulages. 


GENERAL    OUTBREAK.  123 

of  the  north  and  adjacent  districts  into  Santa 
Fe.  A  considerable  number  collected  in  the 
fortifications  of  Isleta,  and  many  famihes  from 
the  surrounding  jurisdictions  were  able  to 
reach  the  capital;  yet  great  numbers  were 
massacred  on  the  way ;  for  the  Indians,  per- 
ceiving their  plot  discovered,  did  not  await  the 
appointed  time,  but  immediately  commenced 
their  work  of  destruction. 

General  hostilities  having  commenced,  eve- 
ry possible  preparation  was  made  for  a  vigorous 
defence  of  the  capital.  The  population  of  the 
suburbs  had  orders  to  remove  to  the  centre, 
and  the  streets  were  all  barricaded.  On  the 
evening  of  the  10th  two  soldiers  arrived  from 
Taos,  having  with  much  difficulty  escaped  the 
vigilance  of  the  Indians.  They  brought  in- 
telhgence  that  the  Pueblos  of  Taos  had  all 
risen;  and  that  on  arriving  at  La  Canada, 
they  had  found  the  Spaniards  well  fortified, 
although  a  great  number  of  them  had  been 
assassinated  in  the  vicinity.  The  governor 
now  sent  out  a  detachment  of  troops  to  re- 
connoitre, instructing  them  to  bring  away  th^ 
citizens  who  remained  at  La  Canada.  They 
returned  on  the  12th,  with  the  painful  infor- 
mation that  they  had  found  many  dead 
bodies  on  their  way — that  the  temples  had 
been  plundered,  and  all  the  stock  driven  off 
from  the  ranchos. 

The  massacre  of  the  Spaniards  in  many 
neighboring  Pueblos,  was  now  unreservedly 
avowed  by  the  Indians  themselves ;  and  as 
tliose  who  remained  in  Santa  Fe  appeared  in 


124  SIEGE    OF    SANTA    FE. 


the  most  imminent  danger,  the  government 
buildings  were  converted  into  a  fortification. 
By  -this  time  two  friendly  Indians  who  had 
been  dispatched  in  the  direction  of  Gahsteo, 
came  in  with  the  inteUigence  that  500  war- 
riors of  the  tribe  called  Tagnos,^  were  march- 
ing towards  the  city,  being  even  then  only 
about  a  league  distant.  By  conversing  with 
the  enemy  the  spies  had  been  able  to  ascer- 
tain their  temper  and  their  projects.  They 
seemed  confident  of  success — "  for  the  God 
of  the  Christians  is  dead,"  said  they,  "  but  our 
god,  which  is  the  sun,  never  dies;''  adding 
that  they  were  only  waiting  the  arrival  of  the 
Teguas^\  Taosas  and  Apaches,  in  order  to 
finish  their  work  of  extermination. 

Next  morning  the  savages  were  seen  ap- 
proaching from  the  south.  On  their  arrival 
they  took  up  their  quarters  in  tlie  deserted 
houses  of  the  suburbs,  with  the  view  of  wait- 
ing for  their  expected  allies,  before  they  laid 
siege  to  the  city.  A  parley  was  soon  after- 
wards held  with  the  chief  leaders,  who  told 
the  Spaniards  that  they  had  brought  two 
crosses,  of  which  they  might  have  their  choice : 
one  was  red,  denoting  war ,  the  other  was 
white  and  professed  peace,  on  the  condition 
of  their  immediately  evacuating  the  province. 
The  governor  strove  to  conciliate  them  by  of- 
fering to  pardon  all  the  crimes  they  had  com- 

*  The  Pecos  and  several  other  populous  Pueblas  to  the  south- 
ward of  Santa  Fe  were  Tagnos\ 

I  These  embraced  nearly  all  the  Pueblos  between  Santa  Fe  aiid 
Taos. 


DESPERATE    BA'ITLES.  125 

initted,  provided  they  would  be  good  Chris- 
tians and  loyal  subjects  thereafier.  But  the 
Indians  only  made  sport  of  him  and  laughed 
heartily  at  his  propositions.  He  then  sent  a 
detachment  to  dislodge  them ;  but  was  event- 
ually obliged  to  turn  out  in  person,  with  all 
the  efficient  men  he  had.  The  battle  con- 
tinued the  whole  day,  during  which  a  great 
number  of  Indians  and  some  Spaniards  were 
killed.  But  late  in  the  evening,  the  Teguas, 
Taosas  and  others,  were  seen  pouring  down 
upon  the  city  from  the  north,  when  the  troops 
had  to  abandon  the  advantages  they  had 
gained,  and  fly  to  the  defence  of  the  fortifica- 
tions. 

The  siege  had  now  continued  for  nine  days, 
during  which  the  force  of  the  Indians  had 
constantly  been  on  the  increase.  Within  the 
last  forty-eight  hours  they  had  entirely  deprived 
the  city  of  water  by  turning  off'  the  stream 
which  had  hitherto  supplied  it ;  so  that  the 
horses  and  other  stock  were  dying  of  thirst. 
The  want  of  water  and  provisions  becoming 
more  and  more  insupportable  every  moment, 
and  seeing  no  chance  of  rescue  or  escape, 
Governor  Otermin  resolved  to  make  a  sortie 
the  next  morning,  and  die  with  sword  in 
hand,  rather  than  perish  so  miserably  for 
want  of  supphes.  At  sunrise  he  made  a  des- 
perate charge  upon  the  enemy,  whom,  not- 
withstanding the  inferiority  of  his  forces,  he 
was  soon  able  to  dislodge.  Their  ranks  be- 
coming entirely  disordered,  more  than  three 
hundred  were  slain,   and   an  abundance  of 


126       RETREAT  OF  THE  SPANIARDS. 

booty  taken,  with  forty-seven  prisoners,  who, 
after  some  examination  as  to  the  origin  of 
the  conspiracy,  were  all  shot  The  Spaniards, 
according  to  their  account  of  the  affair,  only 
had  four  or  five  men  killed,  although  a  consi- 
derable number  were  wounded — ^the  governor 
among  the  rest. 

The  city  of  Santa  Fe,  notwithstanding  a 
remaining  population  of  at  least  a  thousand 
souls,  could  not  muster  above  a  hundred  able- 
bodied  men  to  oppose  the  multitude  that  be- 
set them,  which  had  now  increased  to  about 
three  thousand.  Therefore  Governor  Oter- 
min,  with  the  advice  of  the  most  intelligent 
citizens  in  the  place,  resolved  to  abandon  the 
city.  On  the  following  day  (August  21),  they 
accordingly  set  out,  the  greater  portion  afoot, 
carrying  their  own  provisions ;  as  there  were 
scarcely  animals  enough  for  the  wounded. 
Their  march  was  undisturbed  by  the  Indians, 
who  only  watched  their  movements  till  they 
passed  Isleta,  when  nothing  more  was  seen 
of  them.  Here  they  found  that  those  who 
had  been  stationed  at  Isleta  had  also  retreated 
to  the  south  a  few  days  before.  As  they  pass- 
ed through  the  country,  they  found  the  Pue- 
blos deserted  by  the  Indians,  and  the  Spa- 
niards who  pertained  to  them  all  massacred. 

They  had  not  continued  on  their  march  for 
many  days,  when  the  caravan  became  utterly 
unable  to  proceed ;  for  they  were  not  only 
without  animals,  but  upon  the  point  of  starva- 
tion— ^the  Indians  having  removed  from  the 
route   everything  that   could   have  afforded 


^'       RECONQUEST.  127 

them  relief.  In  this  emergency,  Otermin  dis- 
patched  an  express  to  the  heutenant-gover- 
nor.  who  was  considerably  in  advance,  and 
received  from  his  party  a  few  carts,  with  a 
supply  of  provisions.  Towards  the  latter  end 
of  September,  the  Governor  and  his  compa- 
nions in  misfortune  reached  Paso  del  Norte 
(about  320  miles  south  of  Santa  Fe),  where 
they  found  the  advance  party. 

The  Governor  immediately  sent  an  account 
of  the  disaster  to  the  Viceroy  at  Mexico,  soli- 
citing reinforcements  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
covering the  lost  province,  but  none  arrived 
till  the  following  year.  Meanwhile  the  refu- 
gees remained  where  they  were,  and  founded, 
according  to  the  best  traditions,  the  town  of 
cl  Paso  del  Norte^  so  called  in  commemora- 
tion of  this  retreat,  ox  passage  from  the  north 
This  is  in  an  extensive  and  fertile  valley,  ovei 
which  were  scattered  several  Pueblos,  all  of 
whom  remained  friendly  to  the  Spaniards,  af- 
fording them  an  asylum  with  provisions  and 
all  the  necessaries  of  life. 

The  following  year  Governor  Otermin  was 
superseded  by  Don  Diego  de  Vargas  Zapata, 
who  commenced  the  work  of  reconquering 
the  country.  This  war  lasted  for  ten  years. 
In  1688,  Don  Pedro  Petrir  de  Cruzate  entered 
the  province  and  reduced  the  Pueblo  of  Zia, 
which  had  been  famous  for  its  brave  and  ob- 
stinate resistance.  In  this  attack  more  than 
six  hundred  Indians  of  both  sexes  were  slain, 
and  a  large  number  made  prisoners.  Among 
the  latter  was  a  warrior  named  Ojeda,  cele- 


12S  INDIAN    BARBARITY FEUDS. 

brated  for  valor  and  vivacity,  who  spoke  good 
Spanish.  This  Indian  gave  a  graphic  ac- 
count of  all  that  had  transpired  since  the 
insurrection. 

He  said  that  the  Spaniards,  and  especially 
the  priests,  had  been  everywhere  assassinated 
in  the  most  barbarous  manner ;  and  particu- 
larly alluded  to  the  murder  of  the  curate  of 
Zia,  whose  fate  had  been  singularly  cruel.  It 
appears  that  on  the  night  of  the  outbreak,  the 
unsuspecting  padre  being  asleep  in  the  con- 
vent, the  Indians  hauled  him  out,  and  having 
stripped  him  naked,  mounted  him  upon  a 
hog.  Then  lighting  torches,  they  carried  him 
in  that  state  through  the  village,  and  several 
times  around  the  church  and  cemetery, 
scourging  him  all  the  while  most  unmerci- 
fully !  Yet,  not  even  contented  with  this,  they 
placed  the  weak  old  man  upon  all-fours,  and 
mounting  upon  his  back  by  turns,  spurred 
him  through  the  streets,  lashing  him  without 
cessation  till  he  expired ! 

The  discord  which  soon  prevailed  among 
the  different  Pueblos,  greatly  faciUtated  their 
second  subjugation,  which  closely  followed 
their  emancipation.  These  petty  feuds  re- 
duced their  numbers  greatly,  and  many,  villa- 
ges were  entirely  annihilated,  of  which  his- 
tory only  furnishes  the  names. 

In  1698,  after  the  country  had  been  for 
some  time  completely  subdued  again  by  the 
Spaniards,  another  irruption  took  place  in 
which  many  Pueblos  were  concerned;  but 
through  the  energy  of  Governor  Vargas  Za- 
pata it  was  soon  quelled. 


INSURRECTION    OF    1837.  129 

Since  this  last  effort,  the  Indians  have  been 
treated  with  more  humanity,  each  Pueblo  be- 
ing allowed  a  league  or  two  of  land,  and  per- 
mitted to  govern  themselves.  Their  rancor- 
ous hatred  for  their  conquerors,  however,  has 
never  entirely  subsided,  yet  no  further  out- 
break took  place  till  1837,  w^hen  they  joined 
the  Mexican  insurgents  in  another  bloody  con- 
spiracy. Some  time  before  these  tragic 
events  took  place,  it  was  prophesied  among 
them  that  a  new  race  was  about  to  appear 
from  the  east,  to  redeem  them  from  the  Spa- 
nish yoke.  I  heard  this  spoken  of  several 
months  before  the  subject  of  the  insurrection 
had  been  seriously  agitated.  It  is  probable 
that  the  Pueblos  built  their  hopes  upon  the 
Americans,  as  they  seemed  as  yet  to  have  no 
knowledge  of  the  Texans.  In  fact,  they  have 
always  appeared  to  look  upon  forrfgners  as  a 
superior  people,  to  whom  they  could  speak 
freely  of  their  discontent  and  their  grievances. 
The  truth  is,  the  Pueblos,  in  every  part  of 
Mexico,  have  always  been  ripe  for  insurrec- 
tion. It  is  well  known  that  the  mass  of  the 
revolutionary  chief  Hidalgo's  army  was  made 
up  of  this  class  of  people.  The  immediate 
cause  of  the  present  outbreak  in  the  north, 
however,  had  its  origin  among  the  Hispano- 
Mexican  population.  This  grew  chiefly  out 
of  the  change  of  the  federal  government  to 
that  of  Centralismo  in  1835.  A  new  governor, 
Col.  Albino  Perez,  was  then  sent  from  the 
city  of  Mexico,  to  take  charge  of  this  isolated 
department ;   which  was  not  very  agreeable 


130       GATHERING  OF  THE  RABBLE. 

to  the  *  sovereign  people/  as  they  had  previous- 
ly been  ruled  chiefly  by  native  governors. 
Yet  v^^hile  the  new  form  of  government  was 
a  novelty  and  did  not  afiect  the  pecuniary 
interests  of  the  people,  it  was  acquiesced  in  ; 
but  it  was  now  found  necessary  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  new  organization,  to  introduce  a 
system  of  direct  taxation,  with  which  the  peo- 
ple were  wholly  unacquainted ;  and  they 
would  sooner  have  paid  a  dohlon  through  a 
tariff  than  a  real  in  this  way.  Yet,  although 
the  conspiracy  had  been  brewing  for  some 
time,  no  indications  of  violence  were  demon- 
strated, until,  on  account  of  some  misde- 
meanor, an  alcalde  was  imprisoned  by  the 
Prefecto  of  the  northern  district,  Don  Ramon 
Abreu.  His  honor  of  the  staff  was  soon  libe- 
rated by  a  mob ;  an  occurrence  which  seemed 
as  a  watclfvvord  for  a  general  insurrection. 

-These  new  movements  took  place  about  the 
beginning  of  August,  1837,  and  an  immense 
rabble  was  soon  gathered  at  La  Canada  (a 
town  some  twenty-five  miles  to  the  north  of 
Santa  Fe),  among  whom  were  to  be  found 
the  principal  warriors  of  all  the  Northern  Pue- 
blos. Governor  Perez  issued  orders  to  the 
alcaldes  for  the  assembUng  of  the  mihtia ;  but 
all  that  could  be  collected  together  was  about 
a  hundred  and  fifty  men,  including  the  war- 
riors of  the  Pueblo  of  Santo  Domingo.  With 
tliis  inadequate  force,  the  Governor  made  an 
attempt  to  march  from  the  capital,  but  was 
soon  surprised  by  the  insurgents  who  lay  in 
ambush  near  La  Canada;   when  his  own 


ATROCIOUS    MASSACRE.  131 

men  fled  to  the  enemy,  leaving  him  and  about 
twenty-five  trusty  friends  to  make  their  es- 
cape in  the  best  way  they  could.  Knowing 
that  they  would  not  be  safe  in  Santa  Fe,  the 
refugees  pursued  their  flight  southward,  but 
were  soon  overtaken  by  the  exasperated  Pue- 
blos ;  when  the  Governor  was  chased  back  to 
the  suburbs  of  the  city,  and  savagely  put  to 
death.  His  body  was  then  stripped  and 
shockingly  mangled  :  his  head  was  carried  as 
a  trophy  to  the  camp  of  the  insurgents,  who 
made  a  foot-ball  of  it  among  themselves.  I 
had  left  the  city  the  day  before  this  sad  catas- 
trophe took  place,  and  beheld  the  Indians 
scouring  the  fields  in  pursuit  of  their  victims, 
though  I  was  yet  ignorant  of  their  barbarous 
designs.  I  saw  them  surround  a  house  and 
drag  from  it  the  secretary  of  state,  Jesus  Maria 
Alarid.  He  and  some  other  prin(*ipal  charac- 
ters (including  Prefect  Abreu),  who  had  also 
taken  refuge  among  the  ranchos,  were  soon 
afterwards  stripped,  and  finally  dispatched  d 
lanzadas,  that  is,  pierced  through  and  through 
with  lances,  a  mode  of  assassination  very 
common  among  those  demi-civiiized  savages. 
Don  Santiago  Abreu  (brother  of  the  prefect), 
formerly  governor  and  the  most  famed  charac- 
ter of  N.  Mexico,  was  butchered  in  a  still  more 
barbarous  manner.  They  cut  off'  his  hands, 
pulled  out  his  eyes  and  tongue,  and  otherwise 
mutilated  his  body,  taunting  him  all  the  while 
with  the  crimes  he  was  accused  of,  by  shaking 
the  shorn  members  in  his  face.  Thus  per- 
ished nearly  a  dozen  of  the  most  conspicuous 


132  DISTRIBUTION    OF    SPOILS. 

men  of  the  obnoxious  party,  whose  bodies  lay 
for  several  days  exposed  to  the  beasts  and 
birds  of  prey. 

On  the  9th  of  August  about  two  thousand 
of  the  insurgent  mob,  including  the  Pueblo 
Indians,  pitched  their  camp  in  the  suburbs  of 
the  capital.  The  horrors  of  a  saqueo  (or  plun- 
dering of  the  city)  were  now  anticipated  by 
every  one.  The  American  traders  were  par- 
ticularly uneasy,  expecting  every  instant  that 
their  hves  and  property  would  fall  a  sacrifice 
to  the  ferocity  of  the  rabble.  But  to  the  great 
and  most  agreeable  surprise  of  all,  no  outrage 
of  any  importance  was  committed  upon 
either  inhabitant  or  trader.  A  great  portion 
of  the  insurgents  remained  in  the  city  for 
about  two  days,  during  which  one  of  their 
boldest  leaders,  Jose  Gonzalez  of  Taos,  a  good 
honest  hunter  but  a  very  ignorant  man,  was 
elected  for   governor. 

The  first  step  of  the  revolutionists  was  to 
seize  all  the  property  of  their  proscribed  or 
murdered  victims,  which  was  afterwards  dis- 
tributed among  the  victors  by  a  decree  of  the 
Asamblea general — that  being  the  title  by  which 
a  council  summoned  together  by  Governor 
Gonzalez,  and  composed  of  all  the  alcaldes 
and  principal  characters  of  the  territory,  was 
dignified.  The  families  of  the  unfortunate 
victims  of  this  revolutionary  movement  were 
thus  left  destitute  of  everything ;  and  the  for- 
eign merchants  who  had  given  the  officers 
credit  to  a  large  amount  upon  the  strength  of 
their  reputed  property  and  salaries,  remained 


INJUSTICE    TO    AMERICANS.  133 

without  a  single  resource  with  which  to  cover 
their  demands.  As  these  losses  were  chiefly 
experienced  in  consequence  of  a  want  of  suf- 
ficient protection  from  the  general  govern- 
ment, the  American  merchants  drew  up  a 
memorial  setting  forth  their  claims,  which,  to- 
gether with  a  schedule  of  the  various  accounts 
due,  was  sent  to  the  Hon.  Powhattan  Ellis, 
American  Minister  at  Mexico.  These  de- 
mands were  certainly  of  a  far  more  equitable 
character  than  many  of  those  which  some 
time  after  occasioned  the  French  blockade  ; 
yet  our  Government  has  given  the  unfortu- 
nate claimants  no  hope  of  redress.  Even  Mexi- 
co did  not  dispute  the  justness  of  these  claims, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  she  promptly  paid  to  the 
order  of  General  Armijo,  a  note  given  by  the 
late  Governor  Perez  to  Mr.  Sutton,  an  Ameri- 
can merchant,  which  Armijo  had  purchased 
at  a  great  discount 

In  the  South,  the  Americans  were  every- 
where accused  of  being  the  instigators  of  this 
insurrection,  which  was  openly  pronounced 
another  Texas  affair.  Their  goods  were  con- 
fiscated or  sequestered,  upon  the  slightest  pre- 
texts, or  for  some  pretended  irregularity  in  the 
accompanying  documents ;  although  it  was 
evident  that  these  and  other  indignities  were 
heaped  upon  them,  as  a  punishment  for  the 
occurrence  of  events  which  it  had  not  been 
in  their  power  to  prevent.  Indeed,  these  ill- 
used  merchants  were  not  only  innocent  of 
any  participation  in  the  insurrectionary  move- 
ments, but  had  actually  furnished  means  to 
.    12 


134  >       ARMUO'S    INTRIGUES. 

the   government  for  the  purpose  of  quelhng 
the  disturbances. 

As  I  have  observed  before,  the  most  active 
agents  in  this  desperate  affair  were  the  Pueblo 
Indians,  although  the  insurgent  party  was 
composed  of  all  the  heterogeneous  ingredients 
that  a  Mexican  population  teems  with.  The 
ramheros  and  others  of  the  lowest  class,  how- 
ever, were  only  the  instruments  of  certain  dis- 
contented ricos^  who,  it  has  been  said,  were  in 
hope  of  elevating  themselves  upon  the  wreck 
of  their  enemies.  Among  these  was  the  pre- 
sent Governor  Armijo,  an  ambitious  and  tur 
bulent  demagogue,  who,  for  some  cause  or 
other,  seemed  anxious  for  the  downfall  of  the 
whole  administration. 

As  soon  as  Armijo  received  intelligence  of 
the  catastrophe,  he  hurried  to  the  capital,  ex- 
pecting, as  I  heard  it  intimated  by  his  own 
brother,  to  be  elected  governor ;  but,  not 
having  rendered  any  personal  aid,  the  '  mobo- 
cracy'  would  not  acknowledge  his  claim  to 
their  suffrages.  He  therefore  retired,  Santa- 
Anna-like,  to  his  residence  at  Alburquerque, 
to  plot,  in  imitation  of  his  great  prototype, 
some  measures  for  counteracting  the  opera- 
tion of  his  own  intrigues.  In  this  he  suc- 
ceeded so  well,  that  towards  September  he 
was  able  to  collect  a  considerable  force  in  the 
Rio-Abajo,  when  he  proclaimed  a  contra- 
revolucion  in  favor  of  the  federal  government 
About  the  same  time  the  disbanded  troops  of 
the  capital  under  Captain  Caballero,  made  a 
simiiax  pronunciamento,  demanding  their  arms, 


COUNTER-MOVEMENT.  135 

and  offering  their  services  gratis.  The  *mobo- 
cratic'  dynasty  had  gone  so  far  as  to  deny 
allegiance  to  Mexico,  and  to  propose  sending 
to  Texas  for  protection :  although  there  had 
not  been  any  previous  understanding  with 
that  RepubUc. 

Armijo  now  marched  to  Santa  Fe  with  all 
his  force,  and  Governor  Gonzalez  being  with- 
out an  army  to  support  him,  fled  to  the  north. 
After  his  triumphal  entrance  into  the  capital, 
Armijo  caused  himself  to  be  proclaimed  Gov- 
ernor and  Comandante  General^  and  immedi- 
ately dispatched  couriers  to  Mexico  with  a 
highly  colored  account  of  his  own  exploits, 
which  procured  him  a  confirmation  of  those 
titles  and  dignities  for  eight  years. 

In  the  meanwhile  news  of  the  insurrection 
having  reached  Mexico,  the  Escuadron  de  Vera 
Cruz^  from  Zacatecas,  consisting  of  about  two 
hundred  dragoons,  with  an  equal  number  of 
regulars  from  the  Presidios  of  Chihuahua, 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  Justiniani, 
were  ordered  to  New  Mexico.  Having  ar- 
rived at  Santa  Fe,  these  troops,  together  with 
Governor  Armijo's  little  army,  marched  in 
January,  1838,  to  attack  the  rebels,  who,  by 
this  time,  had  again  collected  in  considerable 
numbers  at  La  Canada. 

The  greatest  uneasiness  and  excitement 
now  prevailed  at  the  Capital,  lest  the  rabble 
should  again  prove  victorious,  in  which  case 
they  would  not  fail  to  come  and  sack  the  city. 
Foreign  merchants  had  as  usual  the  greatest 
cause  for  fear,  as  vengeance  had  been  openly 


136  ROUT   OF   THE    INSURGENTS. 

vowed  against  them  for  having  furnished  the 
government  party  with  suppUes.  These, 
therefore,  kept  up  a  continual  watch,  and  had 
everything  in  readiness  for  a  precipitate  flight 
to  the  United  States.  But  in  a  short  time 
their  fears  were  completely  dispelled  by  the 
arrival  of  an  express,  with  the  welcome  news 
of  the  entire  defeat  of  the  insurgents. 

It  appeared  that,  when  the  army  arrived 
within  view  of  the  insurgent  force,  Armijo 
evinced  the  greatest  perturbation.  In  fact,  he 
was  upon  the  point  of  retiring  without  ven- 
turing an  attack,  when  Captain  Munoz,  of 
the  Vera  Cruz  dragoons,  exclaimed,  "  What's 
to  be  done,  General  Armijo  ?  If  your  Excel- 
lency will  but  permit  me,  I  will  oust  that 
rabble  in  an  instant  with  my  little  company 
alone."  .  Armijo  having  given  his  consent,  the 
gallant  captain  rushed  upon  the  insurgents, 
who  yielded  at  once,  and  fled  precipitately — 
suffering  a  loss  of  about  a  dozen  men,  among 
\vhom  was  the  deposed  Governor  Gonzalez, 
who,  having  been  caught  in  the  town  after 
the  skirmish  had  ended,  was  instantly  shot, 
without  the  least  form  of  trial. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Geographical  Position  of  New  Mexico — Absence  of  navigable 
Streams — The  Rio  del  Norte — Romantic  Chasm — Story  of  a 
sunken  River — Mr.  Stanley's  Excursion  to  a  famous  Lake — 
Santa  Fe  and  its  Localities — El  Valle  de  Taos  and  its  Fertility — 
Soil  of  N.  Mexico — The  first  Settler  at  Taos  and  his  Contract 
with  the  Indians — Salubrity  and  Pleasantness  of  the  Climate 
t)f  New  Mexico — Population — State  of  Agriculture — Staple 
Productions  of  the  Country — Corn-fields  and  Fences — Irriga- 
tion and  Acequias — Tortillas  and  Tortilleras — Atole,  Prijoles^ 
and  Cfiile — Singular  Custom — Culinary  and  Table  Affairs- 
Flax  and  the  Potato  indigenous — Tobacco  and  Puricke — Fruits 
— Peculiar  Mode  of  cultivating  the  Grape — Forest  Growths — 
Pifton  and  Mezquite — Mountain  Cottonwood — Palmilla  or 
Soap-plant — Pasturage. 

New  Mexico  possesses  but  few  of  those 
natural  advantages,  which  are  necessary  to 
anything  hke  a  rapid  progress  in  civihzation. 
Though  bounded  north  and  east  by  the  terri- 
tory of  the  United  States,  south  by  that  of 
Texas  and  Chihuahua,  and  west  by  Upper 
CaUfornia,  it  is  surrounded  by  chains  of  moun- 
tains and  prairie  wilds,  extending  to  a  distance 
of  500  mUes  or  more,  except  in  the  direction 
of  Chihuahua,  from  which  its  settlements  are 
separated  by  an  unpeopled  desert  of  nearly 
two  hundred  miles — and  without  a  single 
means  of  communication  by  water  with  any 
other  part  of  the  world. 

12* 


138  GEOGRAPHICAL    RELATIONS. 

The  whole  nominal  territory,  including 
those  bleak  and  uninhabitable  regions  with 
which  it  is  intersected,  comprises  about  200- 
000  square  miles— considered,  of  course,  ac- 
cording to  its  original  boundaries,  and  there- 
fore independently  of  the  claims  of  Texas  to 
the  Rio  del  Norte.  To  whichsoever  sove- 
reignty that  section  of  land  may  eventually 
belong,  that  portion  of  it,  at  least,  which  is 
inhabited,  should  remain  united.  Any  attempt 
on  the  part  of  Texas  to  make  the  Rio  del 
Norte  the  line  of  demarkation  would  greatly 
retard  her  ultimate  acquisition  of  the  territory, 
as  it  would  leave  at  least  one  third  of  the 
population  accustomed  to  the  same  rule,  and 
bound  by  ties  of  consanguinity  and  affinity  of 
customs,  wholly  at  the  mercy  of  the  contigu- 
ous hordes  of  savages,  that  inhabit  the  Cordil- 
leras on  the  west  of  them.  This  great  chain 
of  mountains  which  reaches  the  borders  of 
the  Rio  del  Norte,  not  far  above  El  Paso,  would, 
in  my  opinion,  form  the  most  natural  bound- 
ary between  the  two  countries,  from  thence 
northward. 

There  is  not  a  single  navigable  stream  to 
be  found  in  New  Mexico.  The  famous  Rio 
del  Norte  is  so  shallow,  for  the  most  part  of 
the  year,  that  Indian  canoes  can  scarcely  float 
in  it.  Its  navigation  is  also  obstructed  by  fre- 
quent shoals  and  rippling  sections  for  a  dis- 
tance of  more  than  a  thousand  miles  below 
Santa  Fe.  Opposite  Taos,  especially,  for  an 
uninterrupted  distance  of  nearly  fifteen  miles, 
it  runs  pent  up  in  a  deep  caTwn^  through  which 


ROMANTIC    CHASM.  139 

it  rushes  in  rapid  torrents.  This  frightful 
chasm  is  absolutely  impassable ;  and,  viewed 
from  the  top,  the  scene  is  imposing  in  the  ex- 
treme. None  but  the  boldest  hearts  and  firm- 
est nerves  can  venture  to  its  brink,  and  look 
down  its  almost  perpendicular  precipice,  over 
projecting  crags  and  deep  crevices,  upon  the 
foaming  current  of  the  river,  which,  in  some 
plftes,  appears  like  a  small  rippling  brook; 
while  in  others  it  winds  its  serpentine  course 
silently  but  majestically  along,  through  a  nar- 
row little  valley;  with  immense  plains  border- 
ing and  expanding  in  every  direction,  yet  so 
smooth  and  level  that  the  course  of  the  river 
is  not  perceived  till  within  a  few  yards  of  the 
verge.  I  have  beheld  this  canon  from  the 
summit  of  a  mountain,  over  which  the  road 
passes  some  twenty  miles  below  Taos,  from 
whence  it  looks  like  the  mere  fissure  of  an  in- 
significant ravine. 

Baron  Humboldt  speaks  of  an  extraordi- 
nary event  as  having  occurred  in  1752,  of 
which  he  says  the  inhabitants  of  Paso  del 
Norte  still  preserved  the  recollection  in  his 
day.  "  The  whole  bed  of  the  river,''  says  the 
learned  historian,  "  became  dry  all  of  a  sud- 
den, for  more  than  thirty  leagues  above  and 
twenty  leagues  below  the  Paso :  ^md  the  wa- 
ter of  the  river  precipitated  itself  into  a  newly 
formed  chasm,  and  only  made  its  reappear- 
ance near  the  Presidio  of   San   Eleazeario. 

At  length,  after  the  lapse  of  several 

weeks,  the  water  resumed  its  course,  no  doubt 
because  the  chasm  and  the  subterraneous  con- 


140  RIO    DEL    NORTE. 

ductors  had  filled  up."  This,  I  must  confess, 
savors  considerably  of  the  marvellous,  as  not 
the  least  knowledge  of  these  facts  appears  to 
have  been  handed  down  to  the  present  gene- 
ration. During  very  great  droughts,  how- 
ever, this  river  is  said  to  have  entirely  disap- 
peared in  the  sand,  in  some  places,  between 
San  Elceario  and  the  Presidio  del  Norte. 

Notwithstanding  the  numerous  tribuflnry 
streams  which  would  be  supposed  to  pour 
their  contents  into  the  Rio  del  Norte,  very  few 
reach  their  destination  before  they  are  com- 
pletely exhausted.  Rio  Puerco,  so  called 
from  the  extreme  muddiness  of  its  waters, 
would  seem  to  form  an  exception  to  this  rule. 
Yet  this  also,  although  at  least  a  hundred 
miles  in  length,  is  dry  at  the  mouth  for  a  por- 
tion of  the  year.  The  creek  of  Santa  Fe  itself, 
though  a  bold  and  dashing  rivulet  ii-  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  moimtains,  siriks 
into  insignificance,  and  is  frequently  lost  al- 
together before  it  reaches  the  main  river.  Pe\ 
c6s  and  Conchos,  its  most  important  inle^, ' 
would  scarcely  be  entitled  to  a  passing  re-f 
mark,  but  for  the  geographical  error  of  Baron 
Humboldt,  who  set  down  the  former  as  the 
head  branch  of  *  Red  River  of  Natchitoches.' 
These  streams  may  be  considered  the  first 
constant-flowing  inlets  which  the  Rio  del 
Norte  receives  from  Santa  Fe  south — {-^  ^  ^or 
the  distance  of  five  hundred  miles  !  It  i 
no  wonder  that  this  '  Great  River  of  the  North- 
decreases  in  volume  of  water  as  it  descends. 
In  fact,  above  the  region  of  tide-water,  it  is  al- 


< 


ITS    NAMES    AND    CHARACTER.  141 

most  everywhere  fordable  during  most  of  the 
year,  being  seldom  over  knee-deep,  except  at 
the  time  of  freshets.  Its  banks  are  generally 
very  low,  often  less  than  ten  feet  above  low- 
water  mark ;  and  yet,  owing  to  the  dispropor- 
tioned  width  of  the  channel  (which  is  for  the 
most  part  some  four  hundred  yards),  it  is  not 
subject  to  inundations.  Its  only  important 
rises  are  those  of  the  annual  freshets,  occasion- 
ed by  the  melting  of  the  snow  in  the  moun- 
tains. 

This  river  is  only  known  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Northern  Mexico  as  JRio  del  Norte,  or  North 
river,  because  it  descends  from  that  direction ; 
yet  in  its  passage  southward,  it  is  in  some 
places  called  Rio  Grande,  on  account  of  its 
extent ;  but  the  name  of  Rio  Bravo  (Bold  or 
Rapid  river),  so  often  given  to  it  on  maps, 
is  seldom  if  ever  heard  among  the  people. 
Though  its  entire  length,  following  its  me- 
anders from  its  source  in  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  must  be  consid- 
erably over  two  thousand  miles,  it  is  hardly 
navigable  to  the  extent  of  two  hundred  miles 
above  its  mouth. 

The  head  branch  of  Pecos,  as  well  as  the 
creeks  of  Santa  Fe  and  Tezuque,  are  said  to 
be  fed  from  a  little  lake  which  is  located  on 
the  summit  of  a  mountain  about  ten  miles 
east  of  Santa  Fe.  Manifold  and  marvellous 
are  the  stories  related  of  this  lake  and  its  won- 
derful localities,  which  although  believed  to  be 
at  least  greatly  exaggerated,  would  no  doubt 
induce   numbers   of   travellers   to   visit  this 


142  A    MOUNTAIN    EXCURSION. 

snow-bound  elysium,  were  it  not  for  the  la- 
boriousness  of  the  ascent.  The  following 
graphic  account  of  a  *  pleasure  excursion'  to 
this  celebrated  '  watering  place/  is  from  the 
memoranda  of  Mr.  E.  Stanley,  who  spent 
many  years  in  the  New  Mexican  capital. 

"  The  snow  had  entirely  disappeared  from 
the  top  of  the  highest  mountains,  as  seen  from 
Santa  Fe  before  the  first  of  May,  and  on  the 
eighteenth  we  set  off  on  our  trip.  All  were 
furnished  with  arms  and  fishing-tackle — well 
prepared  to  carry  on  hostilities  both  by  land 
and  water.  Game  was  said  to  be  abundant 
on  the  way — deer,  turkeys,  and  even  the  for- 
midable grizzly  bear,  ready  to  repel  any  inva- 
sion of  his  hereditary  domain.  Santa  Fe 
creek,  we  knew,  abounded  with  trout,  and  we 
were  in  hopes  of  finding  them  in  the  lake, 
although  I  had  been  told  by  some  Mexicans, 
that  there  were  no  fish  in  it,  and  that  it  con- 
tained no  living  thing,  except  a  certain  non- 
descript and  hideously  misshapen  httle  ani- 
mal. We  travelled  up  the  course  of  the 
creek  about  eight  miles,  and  then  began  to 
chmb  the  mountain.  Our  journey  now  be- 
came laborious,  the  ascent  being  by  no  means 
gradual — rather  a  succession  of  hills — some 
long,  others  short — some  declivitous,  and 
others  extremely  precipitous.  Continuing  in 
this  way  for  six  or  seven  miles,  we  came  to  a 
grove  of  aspen,  thick  as  cottonwoods  in  the 
Missouri  bottoms.  Through  this  grove,  which 
extended  for  nearly  a  mile,  no  sound  met  the 
ear ;  no  sign  of  life — ^not  even  an  insect  was 


SANTA    FE.  143 

to  be  seen  ;  and  not  a  breath  of  air  was  stir- 
ring. It  was  indeed  a  solitude  to  be  felt.  A 
mile  beyond  the  grove  brought  us  near  the 
lake.  On  this  last  level,  we  unexpectedly 
met  with  occasional  snow-banks,  some  of 
them  still  two  or  three  feet  deep.  Being  late, 
we  sought  out  a  suitable  encampment,  and 
fixed  upon  a  little  marshy  prairie,  east  of  the 
lake.  The  night  was  frosty  and  cold,  and  ice 
was  frozen  nearly  an  inch  thick.  Next  morn- 
ing we  proceeded  to  the  lake  ;  when,  lo — in- 
stead of  beholding  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water, 
we  found  an  ugly  little  pond,  with  an  area  of 
two  or  three  acres — ^^frozen  over,  and  one  side 
covered  with  snow  several  feet  deep.  Thus 
all  our  hope  of  trout  and  monsters  were  at  an 
end ;  and  the  tracks  of  a  large  bear  in  the 
snow,  were  all  the  game  we  saw  during  the 
trip.'' 

Santa  Fje,  the  capital  of  New  Mexico,  is  the 
only  town  of  any  importance  in  the  province. 
We  sometimes  find  it  written  Santa  Fe  de  San 
Francisco  (Holy  Faith  of  St.  Francis),  the  lat- 
ter being  the  patron,  or  tutelary  saint.  Like 
most  of  the  towns  m  this  section  of  country 
it  occupies  the  site  of  an  ancient  Pueblo  or 
Indian  village,  whose  race  has  been  extinct 
for  a  great  many  years.  Its  situation  is  twelve 
or  fifteen  miles  east  of  the  Rio  del  Norte,  at 
the  western  base  of  a  snow-clad  mountain, 
upon  a  beautiful  stream  of  small  mill-power 
size,  which  ripples  down  in  icy  cascades,  and 
joins  the  river  some  twenty  miles  to  the  south- 
westward.     The  population  of  the  city  itself 


144  STYLE  OF    THE    TOWN. 

but  little  exceeds  3000  ;  yet,  including  several 
surrounding  villages  which  are  embraced  in 
its  corporate  jurisdiction,  it  amounts  to  nearly 
6,000  souls.^ 

The  town  is  very  irregularly  laid  out,  and 
most  of  the  streets  are  httle  better  than  com- 
mon highways  traversing  scattered  settle- 
ments which  are  interspersed  with  corn-fields 
nearly  sufficient  to  supply  the  inhabitants 
with  grain.  The  only  attempt  at  anything 
like  architectural  compactness  and  precision, 
consists  in  four  tiers  of  buildings,  whose  fronts 
are  shaded  with  a  fringe  of  portales  or  corre- 
dores  of  the  rudest  possible  description.  They 
stand  around  the  public  square,  and  comprise 
the  Fahcioj  or  Governor's  house,  the  Cus- 
tom-house, the  Barracks  (with  which  is  con- 
nected the  fearful  Calabozo),  the  Casa  Consis- 
torial  of  the  Alcaldes^  the  Capilla  de  los  Sol- 
dados  or  MiUtary  Chapel,  besides  several  pri- 
vate residences,  as  well  as  most  of  the  shops 
of  the  American  traders. 

The  population  of  New  Mexico  is  almost 
exclusively  confined  to  towns  and  villages, 
the  suburbs  of  which  are  generally  farms. 
Even  most  of  the  individual  ranchos  and  haci- 
endas  have  grown  into  villages, — a  result  al- 

*  The  latitude  of  Santa  Fe,  as  determined  by  various  observa- 
tions, is  35°  41'  (though  it  is  placed  on  most  maps  nearly  a  degree 
lurther  north);  and  the  longitude  about  106''  west  from  Green- 
wich. Its  elevation  above  the  ocean  is  nearly  7000  feet ;  that  of 
the  valley  of  Taos  is  no  doubt  oVer  a  mile  and  a  half.  The  high- 
est peak  of  the  mountain  (which  is  covered  with  perennial  snow) 
some  ten  miles  to  the  northeast  of  the  capital,  is  reckoned  about 
5,000  feet  above  the  town.  Those  from  Taos  northward  rise  still 
to  a  much  greater  elevation 


VALLEY    OF    TAOS.  1  15 

most  indispensable  for  protection  against  the 
marauding  savages  of  the  surrounding  wilder- 
ness. The  principal  of  these  settlements  are 
located  in  the  valley  of  the  Rio  del  Norte, 
extending  from  nearly  one  hundred  miles 
north  to  about  one  hundred  and  forty  south 
of  Santa  Fe.^  The  most  important  of  these, 
next  to  the  capital,  is  El  Valle  de  Tcws,i  so 
called  in  honor  of  the  Tao^a  tribe  of  Indians, 
a  remnant  of  whom  still  forms  a  Pueblo  in  the 
north  of  the  valley.  No  part  of  New  Mexico 
equals  this  valley  in  amenity  of  soil,  richness 
of  produce  and  beauty  of  appearance.  What- 
ever is  thrown  into  its  prolific  bosom,  which 
the  early  frosts  of  autumn  will  permit  to  ripen, 
grows  to  a  wonderful  degree  of  perfection. 

Wheat  especially  has  been  produced  of  a 
superlative  quality,  and  in  such  abundance, 
that,  as  is  asserted,  the  crops  have  often  yield- 
ed over  a  hundred  fold.  I  would  not  have  it 
understood,  however,  that  this  is  a  fair  sample 
of  New  Mexican  soil;  for,  in  point  of  fact, 
though  many  of  the  bottoms  are  of  very  fertile 
character,  the  uplands  must  chiefly  remain 
unproductive;  owing,  in  part,  to  the  sterility 
of  the  soil,  but  as  much,  no  doubt,  to  want 
of  irrigation  ;  hence  nearly  all  the  farms  and 
settlements  are  located  in  those  valleys  which 

♦  The  settlements  up  the  river  from  the  capital  are  collectively 
known  as  Rio-Arriba,  and  those  down  the  river  as  Rio-Abajo. 
The  latter  comprise  over  a  third  of  the  population,  and  the  princi- 
pal wealth  of  New  Mexico. 

•  t  '  The  Valley  of  TaoSy'  there  bein^  no  town  of  this  name.     It 
iucludes  several  villages  and  other  settlements,  the  largest  of  which 
are  Fernandez  and  Los  Ranches,  four  or  five  miles  apait. 
13 


146  /A   REMINISCENCE. 

may  be  watered  by  some  constant-flowing 
stream.^ 

The  first  settler  of  the  charming  valley  of 
Taos,  since  the  country  was  reconquered  from 
tlie  Indians,  is  said  to  have  been  a  Spaniard 
named  Pan  do,  about  the  middle  of  the  eight- 
eenth century.  This  pioneer  of  the  North, 
finding  himself  greatly  exposed  to  the  depre- 
dations of  the  Comanches,  succeeded  in  gain- 
ing the  friendship  of  that  tribe,  by  promising, 
his  infant  daughter,  then  a  beautiful  child,  to 
one  of  their  chiefs  in  marriage.  But  the  un- 
wilhng  maiden  having  subsequently  refused 
to  ratify  the  contract,  the  settlement  was  im- 
mediately attacked  by  the  savages,  and  all 
were  slain  except  the  betrothed  damsel  who 
was  led  into  captivity.  After  living  some 
years  with  the  Comanches  on  the  great 
prairies,  she  was  bartered  away  to  the  Paw- 
nees, of  whom  she  was  eventually  purchased 
by  a  Frenchman  of  St  Louis.  Some  very 
respectable  families  in  that  city  are  descended 
from  her ;  and  there  are  many  people  yet 
living  who  remember  with  what  affecting 
pathos  the  old  lady  was  wont  to  tell  her  tale 
of  wo.     She  died  but  a  few  years  ago. 

Salubrity  of  cUmate  is  decidedly  the  most 
interesting  feature  in  the  character  of  New 

*  For  the  generally  barren  and  desolate  appearance  which  the 
uplands  of  New  Mexico  present,  some  of  them  have  possessed  an 
extraordinary  degree  of  fertility ;  as  is  demonstrated  by  the  fact 
that  many  of  the  fields  on  the  undulating  lands  in  the  suburbs  of 
Santa  Fe,  have  no  doubt  been  in  constant  cultivation  over  two 
hundred  years,  and  yet  produce  tolerable  crops,  without  having 
been  once  renovated  by  manure. 


CLIMATE    OF    NEW    MEXICO.  147 

Mexico.  Nowhere — not  even  under  the 
much  boasted  Sicihan  skies,  can  a  purer  or  a 
more  wholesome  atmosphere  be  found.  Bil- 
ious diseases — ^the  great  scourge  of  the  valley 
of  the  Mississippi — are  here  almost  unknown. 
Apart  from  a  fatal  epidemic  fever  of  a  typhoid 
character,  that  ravaged  the  whole  province  from 
1837  to  1839,  and  which,  added  to  the  small- 
pox that  followed  in  1840,  carried  off  nearly 
ten  per  cent  of  the  population.  New  Mexico 
has  experienced  very  little  disease  of  a  febrile 
character ;  so  that  as  great  a  degree  of  longe- 
vity is  attained  there,  perhaps,  as  in  any  other 
portion  of  the  habitable  world.  Persons  with- 
ered almost  to  mummies,  are  to  be  encoun- 
terered  occasionally,  whose  extraordinary  age 
is  only  to  be  inferred  from  their  recollection  of 
certain  notable  events  which  have  taken  place 
in  times  far  remote. 

A  sultry  day,  from  Santa  Fe  north,  is  of  very 
rare  occurrence.  The  summer  nights  are 
usually  so  cool  and  pleasant  that  a  pair  of 
blankets  constitutes  an  article  of  comfort  sel- 
dom dispensed  with.  The  winters  are  long, 
but  not  so  subject  to  sudden  changes  as  in 
damper  climates;  the  general  range  of  the 
thermometer,  throughout  the  year,  being  from 
10'  to  75°  above  zero,  of  Fahrenheit.  Baron 
Humboldt  was  led  into  as  great  an  error  with 
respect  to  the  climate  of  New  Mexico  as  to 
the  rivers ;  for  he  remarks,  that  near  Santa  Fe 
and  a  Uttle  further  north,  "  the  Rio  del  Norte 
is  sometimes  covered  for  a  succession  of  seve- 
ral years,  with  ice  thick  enough  to  admit  the 


148  RAINY    SEASON. 

passage  of  horses  and  carriages :"  a  circum- 
stance which  would  be  scarcely  less  astound- 
ing to  the  New  Mexicans,  than  would  the  oc- 
currence of  a  similar  event  in  the  harbor  of 
New  York  be  to  her  citizens. 

The  great  elevation  of  all  the  plains  about 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  is  perhaps  the  principal 
cause  of  the  extraordinary  dryness  of  tjie  at- 
mosphere. There  is  but  little  rain  throughout 
the  year,  except  from  July  to  October — known 
as  the  rainy  season  ;  and  as  the  Missouri  traders 
usually  arrive  about  its  commencement,  the 
coincidence  has  given  rise  to  a  superstition, 
quite  prevalent  among  the  vulgar,  that  the 
Americans  bring  the  rain  with  them.  During 
seasons  of  drought,  especially,  they  look  for 
the  arrival  oi  the  annual  caravans  as  the  har- 
"binger  of  speedy  relief 

There  has  never  been  an  accurate  census 
taken  in  New  Mexico.  Of  the  results'  of  one 
which  was  attempted  in  1832,  the  Secretary 
of  State  at  Santa  Fe  speaks  in  the  following 
terms:  "At  present  (1841)  we  may  estimate 
the  Spanish  or  white  population  at  about 
60,000  souls  or  more,  being  what  remains  of 
72,000,  which  the  census  taken  eight  or  nine 
years  ago  showed  there  then  existed  in  New 
Mexico."  He  supposes  that  this  great  diminu- 
tion resulted  from  the  ravages  of  the  frightful 
diseases  already  alluded  to.  The  decrease  of 
population  from  these  causes,  however,  is  thus 
greatly  overrated.  The  discrepancy  must  find 
its  explanation  in  the  original  inaccuracy  of 
the  census  referred  to. 


POPULATION.  149 

If  we  exclude  the  unsubjugated  savages, 
the  entire  population  of  New  Mexico,  includ- 
ing the  Pueblo  Indians,  cannot  be  set  down, 
according  to  the  best  estimates  I  have  been 
able  to  obtain,  at  more  than  70,000  souls. 
These  may  be  divided  as  follows:  white 
Creoles,  say  1 ,000 ;  Mestizos,  or  mixed  Cre- 
oles, 59,000;  and  Pueblos,  10,000.  Of  natu- 
raUzed  citizens,  the  number  is  inconsiderable 
— scarcely  twenty ;  and  if  we  except  tran- 
sient traders,  there  are  not  over  double  as 
many  alien  residents.  There  are  no  negroes 
in  New  Mexico,  and  consequently  neither 
mulattoes  nor  zamhos.  In  1803,  Baron  Hum- 
boldt set  down  the  population  of  this  province 
at  40,200,  so  that  according  to  this  the  increase 
for  forty  years  has  barely  exceeded  one  per 
cent  per  annum. 

Agriculture,  hke  almost  everything  else 
in  New  Mexico,  is  in  a  very  primitive  and  un- 
improved state.  A  great  portion  of  the  pea- 
santry cultivate  with  the  hoe  alone — their 
ploughs  (when  they  have  any)  being  only 
used  for  mellow  grounds,  as  they  are  too 
rudely  constructed  to  be  fit  for  any  other  ser- 
vice. Those  I  have  seen  in  use  are  mostly 
fashioned  in  this  manner : — a  section  of  the 
trunk  of  a  tree,  eight  or  ten  inches  in  diame- 
ter, is  cut  about  two  feet  long,  with  a  small 
branch  left  projecting  upwards,  of  convenient 
length  for  a  handle.  With  this  a  beam  is  con- 
nected to  which  oxen  are  yoked.  The  block, 
with  its  fore  end  sloped  downwards  to  a  point, 
runs  flat  and  opens  a  furrow  similar  to  that  of 
13* 


150  AGRICULTURE. 

the  common  shovel-plough.  What  is  equally 
worthy  of  remark  is,  that  these  ploughs  are 
often  made  exclusively  of  wood,  without  one 
particle  of  iron,  or  even  a  nail  to  increase 
their  durabihty. 

The  labores  and  milpas  (cultivated  fields)  are 
often,  indeed  most  usually,  without  any  en- 
closure. The  owners  of  cattle  are  obliged  to 
keep  herdsmen  constantly  with  them,  else 
graze  them  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
the  farms ;  for  if  any  trespass  is  committed 
upon  the  fields  by  stock,  the  proprietor  of  the 
latter  is  bound  to  pay  damages  :  therefore,  in- 
stead of  the  cultivator's  having  to  guard  his 
crop  from  the  cattle  as  with  us,  the  owners 
of  these  are  bound  to  guard  them  from  the 
crops.  Only  a  chance  farm  is  seen  fenced 
with  poles  scattered  along  on  forks,  or  a  loose 
hedge  of  brush.  Mud-fences,  or  walls  of 
very  large  adobes^  are  also  occasionally  to  be 
met  with. 

The  necessity  of  irrigation  has  confined,  and 
no  doubt  will  continue  to  confine  agriculture 
principally  to  the  valleys  of  the  constant-flow- 
ing streams.  In  some  places  the  crops  are 
frequently  cut  short  by  the  drying  up  of  the 
streams.  AVhere  water  is  abundant,  however, 
art  has  so  far  superseded  the  oflSces  of  nature 
in  watering  the  farms,  that  it  is  almost  a  ques- 
tion whether  the  interference  of  nature  in  the 
matter  would  not  be  a  disadvantage.  On  the 
one  hand  the  husbandman  need  not  have  his 
grounds  overflowed  if  he  administers  the  wa- 
ter himself,  much  legs  need  he  permit  them 


IRRIGATION.  151 

to  suffer  from  drought.  He  is  therefore  more 
sure  of  his  crop  than  if  it  were  subject  to  the 
caprices  of  the  weather  in  more  favored  agri- 
cultural regions. 

One  acequia  madre  (mother  ditch)  suffices 
generally  to  convey  water  for  the  irrigation 
of  an  entire  valley,  or  at  least  for  all  the  fields 
of  one  town  or  settlement.  This  is  made  and 
kept  in  repair  by  the  pubUc,  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  alcaides ;  laborers  being  allotted 
to  'work  upon  it  as  with  us  upon  our  county 
roads.  The  size  of  this  principal  ditch  is  of 
course  proportioned  to  the  quantity  of  land  to 
be  watered.  It  is  conveyed  over  the  highest 
part  of  the  valley,  which,  on  these  mountain 
streams,  is,  for  the  most  part,  next  to  the 
hills.  From  this,  each  proprietor  of  a  farm 
runs  a  minor  ditch,  in  like  manner,  over  the 
most  elevated  part  of  his  field.  Where  there 
is  not  a  superabundance  of  water,  which  is 
often  the  case  on  the  smaller  streams,  each 
farmer  has  his  day,  or  portion  of  a  day  allot- 
ted to  him  for  irrigation;  and  at  no  other  time 
is  he  permitted  to  extract  water  from  the 
acequia  madre.  Then  the  cultivator,  after  let- 
ting the  water  into  his  minor  ditch,  dams 
tliis,  first  at  one  point  and  then  at  another,  so 
as  to  overflow  a  section  at  a  time,  and  with 
his  hoe,  depressing  eminences  and  filling 
sinks,  he  causes  the  water  to  spread  regularly 
over  the  surface.  Though  the  operation 
would  seem  tedious,  an  expert  irrigator  will 
water  in  one  day  his  five  or  six  acre  field,  if 
level,  and  everything  well  arranged ;  yet  on 


152  STAPLE    PBODUGTIONS. 

uneven  ground  he  will  hardly  be  able  to  gef 
over  half  of  that  amount^ 

All  the  acequias  for  the  valley  of  the  Rio  del 
Norte  are  conveyed  from  tlie  main  stream,  ex 
cept  where  a  tributary  of  more  convenient  wa- 
ter happens  to  join  it.  As  the  banks  of  the  river 
are  very  low,  end  the  descent  considerable, 
the  water  is  soon  brought  upon  the  surface 
by  a  horizontal  ditch  along  an  inclined  bank, 
commencing  at  a  convenient  point  of  con- 
stant-flowing water — generally  without  dam, 
except  sometimes  a  wing  of  stones  to  turn 
the  current  into  the  canal. 

The  staple  productions  of  the  country  are 
emphatically  Indian  corn  and  wheat.  The 
former  grain  is  most  extensively  employed 
for  making  tortillas — an  article  of  food  great- 
ly in  demand  among  the  people,  the  use  of 
which  has  been  transmitted  to  them  by  the 
aborigines.  The  corn  is  boiled  in  water  with 
a  little  lime  :  and  when  it  has  been  sufficiently 
softened,  so  as  to  strip  it  of  its  skin,  it  is 
ground  into  paste  upon  the  meiate^j  and  form- 
ed into  a  thin  cake.  This  is  afterwards  spread 
''on  a  small  sheet  of  iron  or  copper,  called 

*  There  is  no  land  measure  here  correspondent  to  our  acres. 
Husbandmen  rate  their  fields  by  the  amount  of  wheat  necessary  to 
sow  them ;  and  thus  speak  of  a  fanega  of  ]3.nd—fanega  being  a 
measure  of  about  two  bushels — meaning  an  extent  which  two 
bushels  of  wheat  will  suffice  to  sow.  Tracts  are  usually  sold  by 
the  number  of  leguas  (leagues),  or  varcis  front  of  irrigable  lands  ; 
for  those  back  from  the  streams  are  considered  worthless.  The 
vara  is  very  nearly  33  English  inches,  5,000  of  which  constitute 
the  Mexican  league — under  two  miles  and  two-thirds. 

t  From  the  Indian  word  metatl,  a  hollowed  oblong  stone,  used 
as  a  grinding-machine. 


TORTILLA-MAKING, 


153 


A    KIICHEN    SCENE. 

conial  [comalli,  by  the  Indians),  and  placed 
over  the  fire,  where,  in  less  than  three  min- 
utes," it  is  baked  arud  ready  for  use.  The  thin- 
ness of  the  tortilla  is  always  a  great  test  of 
skill  in  the  maker,  and  much  rivalry  ensues 
in  the  art  of  preparation.  The  office  of  mak- 
ing tortillas  has,  from  the  earliest  times,  per- 
tained chiefly  to  the  women,  who  appear  to 
be  better  adapted  to  this  employ  than  the  other 
sex,  both  as  regards  skill  and  dexterity,  in  pre- 
paring this  particular  food  for  the  table.  I 
perfectly  agree  with  the  historian  Clavigero, 
however,  in  the  opinion  that  "although  this 
species  of  corn-bread  may  be  very  wholesome 
and  substantial,  and  well-flavored  when  new- 
ly made,  it  is  unpleasant  when  cold." 
A  sort  of  thin  mush,  called  atole^  made  of 


154  PECULIARITIES   OF   DIET. 

Indian  meal,  is  another  article  of  diet,  the  pre^ 
paration  of  which  is  from  the  aborigines  ;  and 
such  is  its  nationaUty,  that  in  the  North  it  is 
frequently  called  el  cafe  de  los  Mexicanos  (the 
coffee  of  the  Mexicans).  How  general  soever  ' 
the  use  of  coffee  among  Americans  may  ap- 
pear, that  of  atole  is  still  more  so  among  the 
lower  classes  of  Mexicans.  They  \drtually 
^  breakfast,  dine  and  sup'  upon  it.  Of  this, 
indeed,  with  frijoles  and  chile  (beans  and  red 
pepper),  consists  their  principal  food.  The 
extravagant  use  of  red  pepper  among  the 
Mexicans  has  become  truly  proverbial.  It 
enters  into  nearly  every  dish  at  every  meal, 
and  often  so  predominates  as  entirely  to  con- 
ceal the  character  of  the  viands.  It  is  hke- 
wise  ground  into  a  sauce,  and  thus  used  even 
more  abundantly  than  butter.  Chile  verde 
(green  pepper),  not  as  a  mere  condiment,  but 
as  a  salad,  served  up  in-  different  ways,  is 
reckoned  by  them  one  of  the  greatest  luxuries. 
But  however  much  we  may  be  disposed  to 
question  their  taste  in  this  particular,  no  one 
can  hesitate  to  do  homage  to  their  incompara- 
ble chocolate,  in  the  preparation  of  which  the 
Mexicans  surely  excel  every  other  people. 

Besides  these,  many  other  articles  of  diet 
pecuhar  to  the  country|^and  adopted  from 
the  aborigines,  are  still  m  use — often  of  rich 
and  exquisite  flavor,  and  though  usually  not 
much  relished  at  first  by  strangers,  they  are 
for  the  most  part  highly  esteemed  after  a  little 
use. 

The  rancheros,  and  all  the  humbler  classes 


TABLE    CUSTOMS.  155 

of  people,  very  seldom  use  any  table  for  their 
meals,  an  inconvenience  which  is  very  httle 
felt,  as  the  dishes  are  generally  served  out 
from  the  kitchen  in  courses  of  a  single  plate 
to  each  guest,  who  usually  takes  it  upon  his 
knees.  Knives  and  forks  are  equally  dis- 
pensed with,  the  viands  being  mostly  hashed 
or  boiled  so  very  soft  as  to  be  eaten  with  a 
spoon.  This  is  frequently  supplied  by  the 
tortilla^  a  piece  of  which  is  ingeniously  dou- 
bled between  the  fingers,  so  as  to  assist  in  the 
disposal  of  anything,  be  it  ever  so  rare  or 
liquid.  Thus  it  may  well  be  said,  as  in  the 
story  of  the  Oriental  monarch,  that  these  ran- 
cheros  employ  a  new  spoon  for  every  mouth- 
ful :  for  each  fold  of  the  tortilla  is  devoured 
with  the  substance  it  conveys  to  the  mouth. 

The  very  singular  custom  of  abstaining 
from  all  sorts  of  beverage  during  meals,  has 
frequently  afforded  me  a  great  deal  of  amuse- 
ment. Although  a  large  cup  of  water  is  set 
before  each  guest,  it  is  not  customary  to  drink 
it  off  till  the  repast  is  finished.  Should  any 
one  take  it  up  in  his  hand  while  in  the  act  of 
eating,  the  host  is  apt  to  cry  out,  "  Hold,  hold ! 
there  is  yet  more  to  come."  I  have  never 
been  able  to  ascertain  definitely  the  meaning 
of  this  pecuUarity;  but  from  the  strictness 
with  which  it  is  observed,  it  is  natural  to  sup- 
pose, that  the  use  of  any  kind  of  drink  whilst 
eating,    is    held    extremely  unwholesome.^ 

*  What  also  strikes  the  stranger  as  a  singularity  in  that  country, 
is  that  the  females  rarely  ever  eat  with  the  males— at  least  in  the 
presence  of  strangers — but  usually  take  their  food  in  the  kitchen 
by  themselves. 


156  INDIGENOUS   PLANTS. 

! 

Tlie  New  Mexicans  use  but  little  wine  at 
meals,  and  that  exclusively  of  the  produce  of 
tlie  Paso  del  Norte. 

But  to  return  to  the  productions  of  the  soil. 
Cotton  is  cultivated  to  no  extent,  although  it 
has  always  been  considered  as  indigenous  to 
the  country ;  while  th^  ancient  manufactures 
of  the  aborigines  prove  it  to  have  been  especi- 
ally so  in  this  province.  Flax  is  entirely  neg- 
lected, and  yet  a  plant  resembhng  in  every 
respect  that  of  the  linum  usitatissimum,  is  to  be 
found  in  great  abundance  in  many  of  the 
mountain  valleys.  The  potato  [la  papa),  al- 
though not  cultivated  in  this  country  till  very 
lately,  is  unquestionably  an  indigenous  plant, 
being  still  found  in  a  state  of  nature  in  many 
of  the  mountain  valleys — though  of  small  size, 
seldom  larger  than  filberts :  whence  it  ap- 
pears that  tliis  luxury  had  not  its  exclusive 
origin  in  South  America,  as  is  the  current 
opinion  of  the  present  day.  Universal  as  the 
u«e  of  tobacco  is  among  these  people,  there  is 
very  little  of  it  grown,  and  that  chiefly  of  a 
Ught  and  weak  species,  called  by  the  natives 
punche,  which  is  also  indigenous,  and  still  to 
be  met  with  growing  wild  in  some  places. 
What  has  in  a  great  measure  contributed  to 
discourage  people  from  attending  to  the  culti- 
vation of  the  tobacco  plant,  is  the  monopoly 
of  this  indispensable  by  the  federal  govern- 
ment ;  for  although  the  tobacco  laws  are  not 
enforced  in  New  Mexico  (there  being  no 
EstanquillOj  or  public  store-liouse),  yet  the 
people  cannot  carry  it  anywhere  else  in  the 


FRUITS THE   GRAPE.  .  157 

republic  for  sale,  without  risk  of  its  being 
immediately  confiscated.  A  still  more  power- 
ful cause  operating  against  this,  as  well  as 
every  other  branch  of  agriculture  in  New 
Mexico,  is  the  utter  want  of  navigable  streams, 
as  a  cheap  and  convenient  means  of  transpor- 
tation to  distant  markets. 

Famous  as  the  republic  of  Mexico  has  been 
for  the  quality  and  variety  of  its  fruits,  this 
province,  considering  its  latitude,  is  most  sin- 
gularly destitute  in  this  respect.  A  few  or- 
chards of  apples,  peaches  and  apricots,  are 
occasionally  met  with,  but  even  these  are  of 
very  inferior  quality,  being  only  esteemed  in 
the  absence  of  something  better.  A  few 
small  vineyards  are  also  to  be  found  in  the 
valley  of  the  Rio  del  Norte,  but  the  grape  does 
not  thrive  as  at  El  Paso.  The  mode  of  cul- 
tivating the  grape  in  these  parts  is  somewhat 
peculiar,  and  might,  I  have  no  doubt,  be  prac- 
tised to  great  advantage  in  other  countries.  No 
scaffold  or  support  of  any  kind  is  erected  for 
the  vines,  which  are  kept  pruned  so  as  to 
form  a  sort  of  shrubbery.  Every  fall  of  the 
year,  these  are  completely  covered  with  earth, 
which  protects  them  during  the  winter. 
Upon  the  opening  of  spring  the  dirt  is  scraped 
away,  and  the  vines  pruned  again.  This  be- 
ing repeated  from  year  to  year,  the  shrubs 
soon  acquire  sufficient  strength  to  support  the 
heavy  crops  of  improved  and  superiorly-fla- 
vored grapes  which  they  finally  produce. 

Indigenous  wild   fruits  are    not  quite  so 
scarce;  a  clear  evidence  that  the  lack  of  culti- 


153  GROWTHS THE    PINON. 

vated  fruit  is  not  so  much  the  fault  of  nature, 
as  the  result  of  indolence  and  neglect  on  the 
part  of  the  people.  The  prickly  pear  is  found 
in  greatest  abundance,  and  of  several  varie- 
ties :  and  though  neither  very  wholesome  nor 
savory,  it  is  nevertheless  frequently  eaten.       " 

There  is  but  httle  timber  in  New  Mexico, 
except  in  the  mountains  and  along  the  water- 
courses ;  the  table-plains  and  valleys  are  gene- 
rally all  open  prairie.  The  forest  growths, 
moreover,  of  all  the  north  of  Mexico,  present 
quite  a  limited  variety  of  timber,  among 
which  a  species  of  pitch-pine  mostly  predo- 
minates. The  tree  which  appears  to  be  most 
pecuUar  to  the  country,  is  a  kind  of  scrub 
pine  called  pinon,  which  grows  generally  to 
the  height  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet,  with  leaves 
ever-green  and  pine-like,  but  scarcely  an  inch 
long.  From  the  surface  of  this  tree  exudes 
a  species  of  turpentine  resembhng  that  of 
the  pitch-pine,  but  perhaps  less  resinous.  The 
wood  is  white  and  firm,  and  much  used  for 
fuel.  The  most  remarkable  appendage  of  this 
tree  is  the  fruit  it  bears,  which  is  also  known 
by  the  same  name.  This  is  a  httle  nut  about 
the  size  of  a  kidney-bean,  with  a  rich  oily 
kernel  in  a  thin  shell,  enclosed  in  a  chestnut- 
like bur.  It  is  of  pleasant  flavor  and  much 
eaten  by  the  natives,  and  considerable  quan- 
tities are  exported  annually  to  the  southern 
cities.  It  is  sometimes  used  for  the  manu- 
facture of  a  certain  kind  of  oil,  said  to  be  very 
good  for  lamps. 

The  mezquite  tree,  vulgarly  called  muskeet 


THE   MEZQUITE.  159 

in  Texas,  where  it  has  attained  some  celebrity, 
grows  in  some  of  the  fertile  valleys  of  Chi- 
huahua to  the  height  of  tMrty  and  forty  feet, 
with  a  trunk  of  one  to  two  feet  in  diameter. 
The  wood  makes  excellent  fuel,  but  it  is  sel- 
dom used  for  other  purposes,  as  it  is  crooked, 
knotty,  and  very  coarse  and  brittle,  more  re- 
sembUng  the  honey-locust  (of  which  it  might 
be  considered  a  scrubby  species)  than  the  ma- 
hogany, as  some  people  have  asserted.  The 
fruit  is  but  a  diminutive  honey-locust  in  ap- 
pearance and  flavor,  of  the  size  and  shape  of 
a  flattened  bean-pod,  with  the  seeds  disposed 
in  like  manner.  This  pod,  which,  like  that  of 
the  honey-locust  encloses  a  glutinous  sub- 
stance, the  Apaches  and  other  tribes  of  Indians 
grind  into  flour  to  make  their  favorite  pinole. 
The  mezquite  seems  undoubtedly  of  the  Aca- 
cia  Arabica  species ;  as  some  physicians  who 
have  examined  the  gum  which  exudes  from 
the  tree,  pronounce  it  genuine  Arabic. 

On  the  water-courses  there  is  little  timber 
to  be  found  except  cottonwood,  scantily  scat- 
tered along  their  banks.  Those  of  the  Rio 
del  Norte  are  now  nearly  bare  throughout  the 
whole  range  of  the  settlements,  and  the  inha- 
bitants are  forced  to  resort  to  the  distant 
mountains  for  most  of  their  fuel.  But  no- 
where, even  beyond  the  settlements,  are  there 
to  be  seen  such  dense  cottonwood  bottoms 
as  those  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  Besides 
the  common  cottonwood  there  is  another  to 
be  found  upon  the  mountain  streams  of  New 
Mexico^, wMch  has   been  calle4, willow-leaf 


160  THE    SOAP-PLANT. 

or  bitter  cotton  wood  {popidus  angustifoKa?) 
and  has  been  reckoned  by  some  a  species  of 
cinchona,  yet  for  no  other  reason  perhaps  than 
that  the  bark  possesses  efficacious  tonic  quali- 
ties. Attached  to  the  seeds  of  this  tree  is  also 
a  cotton  similar  to  that  of  the  sweet  cotton- 
wood,  or  populus  angulata. 

Among  the  wild  productions  of  Nev/  Mexi- 
co is  the  pabnilla — a  species  of  palmetto, 
which  might  be  termed  the  soap-plant — whose 
roots,  as  well  as  those  of  another  species 
known  as  palma  (or  palm),  when  bruised, 
form  a  saponaceous  pulp  called  amok,  much 
used  by  the  natives  for  washing  clothes,  and  is 
said  to  be  even  superior  to  soap  for  scouring 
woollens. 

But  by  far  the  most  important  indigenous 
product  of  the  soil  of  New  Mexico  is  its  pas- 
turage. Most  of  the  high  table-plains  afford 
fhe  finest  grazing  in  the  world,  while,  for 
want  of  water,  they  are  utterly  useless  for 
most  other  purposes.  That  scanty  moisture 
which  suffices  to  bring  forth  the  natural  vege- 
tation, is  insufficient  for  agricultural  produc- 
tions, without  the  aid  of  irrigation.  The  high 
prairies  of  all  Northern  Mexico  differ  greatly 
from  those  of  our  border  in  the  general  cha- 
racter of  their  vegetation.  They  are  remarka- 
bly destitute  of  the  gay  flowering  plants  for 
which  the  former  are  so  celebrated,  being  most- 
ly clothed  with  different  species  of  a  highly 
nutritious  grass  called  gi^ama,  which  is  of  a 
very  short  and  curly  quality.  The  highlands, 
\ipon  which  alone  this  sort  of  grass  is  produc- 


THE  PASTURAGE.  161 

ed,  being  seldom  verdant  till  after  the  rainy- 
season  sets  in,  the  grama  is  only  in  perfection 
from  August  to  October.  But  being  rarely- 
nipt  by  the  frost  until  the  rains  are  over,  it 
cures  upon  the  ground  and  remains  excel- 
lent hay — equal  if  not  superior  to  that  v^hich 
is  cut  and  stacked  from  our  western  prairies. 
Although  the  winters  are  rigorous,  the  feed- 
ing of  stock  is  almost  entirely  unknown  in 
New  Mexico ;  nevertheless,  the  extensive 
herds  of  the  country,  not  only  of  cattle  and 
sheep,  but  of  mules  and  horses,  generally 
maintain  themselves  in  excellent  condition 
upon  the  dry  pasturage  alone  through  the 
cold  season,  and  until  the  rains  start  up  the 
green  grass  again  the  following  summer. 


U* 


■  ki 


CHAPTER    VI It. 

The  Mines  of  New  Mexico — Supposed  Concealment  of  them  by 
the  Indians— Indian  Superstition  and  Cozenage — Ruins  of  La 
Gran  Quivira — Old  Mines — Placeres  or  Mines  of  Gold  Dust — 
Speculative  Theories  as  to  the  original  Deposites  of  the  Gold 
— Mode  of  Working  the  Placeres — Manners  and  Customs  of 
the  Miners — Arbitrary  Restrictions  of  the  Mexican  Govern- 
ment upon  Foreigners— ^Persecution  of  a  Gachupin. — Disas- 
trous Effects  of  official  Interference  upon  the  Mining  Interest — 
Disregard  of  American  Rights  and  of  the  U.  States  Govern- 
ment—  Gambucinos  and  their  System — Gold  found  throughout 
N.  Mexico — Silver  Mines — 'Copper,  Zinc  and  Lead — Sul- 
phurous Springs — Gypsum,  and  Petrified  Trees. 

Tradition  speaks  of  numerous  and  produc- 
tive mines  having  been  in  operation  in  New 
Mexico  before  the  expulsion  of  the  Spaniards 
in  1680  ;  but  that  the  Indians,  seeing  that  the 
cupidity  of  the  conquerors  had  been  the  cause 
of  their  former  cruel  oppressions,  determined 
to  conceal  all  the  mines  by  fiUing  them  up, 
and  obliterating  as  much  as  possible  every 
trace  of  them.  This  was  done  so  effectually, 
as  is  told,  that  after  the  second  conquest  (the 
Spaniards  in  the  mean  time  not  having  turned 
their  attention  to  mining  pursuits  for  a  series 
of  years),  succeeding  generations  were  never 
able  to  discover  them  again.  Indeed  it  is  now 
generally  credited  by  the  Spanish  population. 


MINES INDIAN    STORIES.  163 

that  the  Pueblo  Indians,  up  to  the  present  day, 
are  acquainted  with  the  locales  of  a  great  num- 
ber of  these  wonderful  mines,  of  which  they 
most  sedulously  preserve  the  secret.  Rumor 
further  asserts  that  the  old  men  and  sages  of 
the  Pueblos  periodically  lecture  the  youths 
on  this  subject,  warning  them  against  discov- 
ering the  mines  to  the  Spaniards,  lest  the  cru- 
elties of  the  original  conquest  be  renewed  to- 
wards them,  and  they  be  forced  to  toil  and 
suffer  in  those  mines  as  in  days  of  yore.  To 
the  more  effectual  preservation  of  secrecy,  it 
is  also  stated  that  they  have  called  in  the  aid 
of  superstition,  by  promulgating  the  belief 
that  the  Indian  who  reveals  the  location  of 
these  hidden  treasures,  will  surely  perish  by 
the  wrath  of  their  gods. 

Playing  upon  the  credulity  of  the  people,  it 
sometimes  happens  that  a  roguish  Indian  will 
amuse  himself  at  the  expense  of  his  reputed 
superiors  hi  intelligence,  by  proffering  to  dis- 
close some  of  these  concealed  treasures.  I 
once  knew  a  waggish  savage  of  this  kind  to 
propose  to  show  a  valley  where  virgin  gold 
could  be  *  scraped  up  by  the  basket-fiSl.'  On 
a  bright  Sunday  morning,  the  time  appointed 
for  the  expedition,  the  chuckling  Indian  set 
out  with  a  train  of  Mexicans  at  his  heels,  pro- 
vided with  mules  and  horses,  and  a  large 
quantity  of  meal-bags  to  carry  in  the  golden 
stores;   but,  as  the  shades  of  evening  were 

closing  around  the  party,  he  discovered 

that  he  couldn't  find  the  place. 

It  is  not  at  all  probable,  however,  that  the 


164  RUINS    OF    GRAN    QUIVIRA. 

aborigines  possess  a  tenth  part  of  the  know- 
ledge of  these  ancient  fountains  of  wealth, 
tliat  is  generally  attributed  to  them ;  but  that 
many  valuable  mines  were  once  wrought  in 
this  province,  not  only  tradition  but  authenti- 
cated records  and  existing  rehcs  sufficiently 
prove.  In  every  quarter  of  the  territory  there 
are  still  to  be  seen  vestiges  of  ancient  excava- 
tions, and  in  some  places,  ruins  of  considera- 
ble towns  evidently  reared  for  mining  purposes. 
Among  these  ancient  ruins  the  most  re- 
markable are  those  of  La  Gian  Quivira,  about 
100  miles  southward  from  Santa  Fe.  This 
appeeirs  to  have  been  a  considerable  city, 
larger  and  richer  by  far  than  the  present  cap- 
ital of  New  Mexico  has  ever  been.  Many 
walls,  particularly  those  of  churches,  still  stand 
erect  amid  tlie  desolation  that  surrounds  them, 
as  if  their  sacredness  had  been  a  shield  against 
which  Time  dealt  his  blows  in  vain.  The 
style  of  architecture  is  altogether  superior  to 
anything  at  present  to  be  found  north  of  Chi- 
huahua— ^being  of  hewn  stone,  a  building 
material  w^hoUy  unused  in  New  Mexico. 
What  is  more  extraordinary  still,  is,  that  there 
is  no  water  within  less  than  some  ten  miles 
of  the  ruins ;  yet  we  find  several  stone  cis- 
terns, and  remains  of  aqueducts  eight  or  ten 
miles  in  length,  leading  from  the  neighboring 
mountains,  from  whence  water  was  no  doubt 
conveyed.  And,  as  there  seem  to  be  no  in- 
dications whatever  of  the  inhabitants'  ever 
having  been  engaged  m  agricultural  pursuits, 
what  could  have  induced  the  rearing  of  a  city 


THEIR    CHARACTER.  165 

in  such  an  arid,  woodless  plain  as  this,  ex- 
cept the  proximity  of  some  valuable  mine,  it 
is  difficult  to  imagine.  From  the  pecuUar  char- 
acter of  the  place  and  the  remains  of  the  cis- 
terns still  existing,  the  object  of  pursuit  in  this 
case  would  seem  to  have  been  a  placer,  a  name 
apphed  to  mines  of  gold-dust  intermixed  with 
the  earth.  However,  other  mines  have  no 
doubt  been  worked  in  the  adjacent  mountains, 
as  many  spacious  pits  are  found,  such  as  are 
usually  dug  in  pursuit  of  ores  of  silver,  etc. ; 
and  it  is  stated  that  in  several  places  heaps  of 
scoria  are  still  to  be  seen. 

By  some  persons  these  ruins  have  been 
supposed  to  be  the  remains  of  an  ancient  Pue- 
blo or  aboriginal  city.  That  is  not  probable, 
however ;  for  though  the  relics  of  aboriginal 
temples  might  possibly  be  mistaken  for  those 
of  Catholic  churches,  yet  it  is  not  to  be  pre- 
sumed that  the  Spanish  coat  of  arms  would 
be  found  sculptured  and  painted  upon  their 
fa9ades,  as  is  the  .  case  in  more  than  one  in- 
stance. The  most  rational  accounts  represent 
this  to  have  been  a  wealthy  Spanish  city  be- 
fore the  general  massacre  of  1680,  in  which 
calamity  the  inhabitants  perished — all  except 
one,  as  the  story  goes;  and  that  their  im- 
mense treasures  were  buried  in  the  ruins. 
Some  credulous  adventurers  have  lately  vis- 
ited the  spot  in  search  of  these  long  lost  cof- 
fers, but  as  yet  none  have  been  found.^ 

*  In  the  same  vicinity  there  are  some  other  ruins  of  a  similar 
character,  though  less  extensive  ;  the  principal  of  which  are  those 
of  Abo,  Tagique  and  Chilili.  The  last  of  these  is  now  bein^ 
resettled  by  the  Mexicans. 


166  ANCIENT   MINES. 

The  mines  of  Cerrillos^  twenty  miles 
southward  of  Santa  Fe,  although  of  un- 
doubted antiquity,  have,  to  all  appearance, 
been  worked  to  some  extent  within  the  pre- 
sent century ;  indeed,  they  have  been  re- 
opened within  the  recollection  of  the  present 
generation ;  but  the  enterprise  having  been 
attended  with  httle  success,  it  was  again  aban- 
doned. Among  numerous  pits  still  to  be 
seen  at  this  place,  there  is  one  of  immense 
depth  cut  through  sohd  rock,  which  it  is  ber 
heved  could  not  have  cost  less  than  $100,000. 
In  the  mountains  of  Sandia,  Abiquiu,  and 
more  particularly  in  those  of  Picuris  and  Em- 
budo,  there  are  also  numerous  excavations  of 
considerable  depth.  A  few  years  ago  an  en- 
terprising American  undertook  to  reopen  one 
of  those  near  Picuris ;  but  after  having  pene- 
trated to  the  depth  of  more  than  a  hundred 
feet,  without  reaching  the  bottom  of  the  ori- 
ginal excavation  (which  had  probably  been 
filUng  up  for  the  last  hundred  and  fifty 
years),  he  gave  it  up  for  want  of  means. 
Other  attempts  have  since  been  made,  but 
with  as  httle  success.  Whether  these  failures 
have  been  caused  by  want  of  capital  and  en- 
ergy, or  whether  the  veins  of  ore  were  ex- 
hausted by  the  original  miners,  remains  for 
future  enterprise  to  determine. 

The  only  successful  mines  known  in  New 
Mexico  at  the  present  day,  are  those  of  gold, 
the  most  important  one  of  which  is  that  ori- 
ginally incorporated  as  El  Real  de  Dolores,  but 
generally  known  by  the  significant  name  of 


PLACER    OF    GOLD.  167 

El  Placer.  This  mine  lies  in  a  low  detached 
spur  of  mountains,  at  a  distance  of  twent)r- 
seven  miles  south  of  the  capital.  In  1828,  a 
Sonoreno  who  was  in  the  habit  of  herding  his 
mules  in  that  vicinity,  being  one  day  in  pur- 
suit of  some  that  had  strayed  into  the  moun- 
tains, happened  to  pick  up  a  stone,  which  he 
soon  identified  as  being  of  the  same  class  that 
was  to  be  found  in  the  gold  regions  of  Sono- 
ra.  Upon  a  little  further  examination,  he  de- 
tected sundry  particles  of  gold,  which  did  not 
fail  to  occasion  some  degree  of  excitement  in 
the  country.  Although  the  amount  procured 
from  these  mines,  was,  for  the  first  two  oi 
three  years,  very  insignificant,  yet  it  answered 
the  purpose  of  testing  the  quality  of  the  me- 
tal, which  was  found  to  be  of  uncommon 
purity.  A  market  was  therefore  very  soon 
opened  with  foreign  merchants. 

The  quantity  of  gold  extracted  between 
the  years  1832  and  '35  could  not  have 
amounted  to  less  than  from  $60,000  to  $80,- 
000  per  annum.  Since  this  time,  however, 
there  has  been  a  considerable  falhng  off*,  some 
seasons  producing  but  $30,000  or  $40,000. 
It  is  beheved,  notwithstanding,  that  the  en- 
tire aggregate  yield  since  the  first  discovery 
has  exceeded  half  a  million  of  dollars.  The 
reduction  in  profit  during  the  last  few  years 
has  been  caused  more  by  want  of  energy 
and  enterprise,  than  by  exhaustion  of  the 
precious  metal,  as  only  a  very  small  portion  of 
the  *  gold  region '  has  as  yet  been  dug ;  and 
experience  has  shown  that  the  *  dust '  is  about 


168  QUALITY    OF   THE    GOLD. 

as  likely  to  be  found  in  one  part  of  it  as  in 
another.  All  the  best  *  diggings'  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  the  water,  however,  seem 
pretty  well  excavated :  in  some  places  the 
hills  and  valleys  are  Uterally  cut  up  Uke  a 
honey-comb. 

It  has  been  the  impression  of  some  per- 
sons, that  the  gold  of  this  region  was  origi- 
nally accumulated  in  some  particular  deposit, 
and  that  it  has  thus  been  spread  over  the  sur- 
face of  the  country  by  some  volcanic  erup- 
tion. 

The  dust  and  grains  obtained  at  tliis  mine, 
are  virgin  gold,  and,  as  before  remarked,  of 
very  fine  quality,  producing  at  the  United 
States  Mint  an  average  of  at  least  $19  70  to 
the  ounce  troy  after  melting,  or  about  $19  30 
gross.  It  was  at  first  Bought  by  the  traders 
at  the  rate  of  fifteen  dollars  per  ounce,  but  in 
consequence  of  the  competition  which  was 
afterwards  excited  among  the  dealers,  its. price 
was  raised  for  a  short  time  above  its  maxi- 
^lum  at  the  Mint,  although  it  has  since  set- 
tled down  at  about  $17  30  per  oimce  troy. 

During  the  process  of  these  excavations, 
when  such,  a  depth  has  been  reached  as  to 
render  a  ladder  indispensable,  a  pole  ten  or 
fifteen  feet  long  is  cut  full  of  notches  for  that 
purpose,  and  set  diagonally  in  the  orifice.  In 
proportion  as  the  pit  becomes  deeper,  others 
are  added,  forming  a  somewhat  precarious 
zigzag  staircase,  by  which  the  agile  miner 
descends  and  ascends  without  even  using  his 
hands  to  assist  himself,  although  with  a  large 


MINING    OFEKATIONS.  169 


GOLD-WASHING. 

load  of  earth  upon  his  shoulders.  It  is  in  this 
way  that  most  of  the  rubbish  is  extracted 
from  these  mines,  as  windlasses  or  machinery 
of  any  kind  are  rarely  used. 

The  winter  season  is  generally  preferred  by 
the  miners,  for  the  facilities  it  affords  of  sup- 
plying the  gold-washers  with  water  in  the  im- 
mediate neighborhood  of  their  operations  ; 
for  the  great  scarcity  of  water  about  the  min- 
ing regions  is  a  very  serious  obstacle  at  other 
seasons  to  successful  enterprise.  Water  in 
winter  is  obtained  by  melting  a  quantity  of 
snow  thrown  into  a  sink,  with  heated  stones. 
Those  employed  as  washers  are  vfery  fre- 
quently the  wives  and  children  of  the  miners. 
A  round  wooden  bowl  called  batea^  about 
eighteen  inches  in  diameter,  is  the  washing 
15 


170  PROCESS    OF    WASHING. 

vessel,  which  they  fill  with  the  earth,  and  then 
immerse  it  in  the  pool,  and  stir  it  with  their 
hands;  by  which  operation  the  loose  dirt 
floats  off,  and  the  gold  settles  to  the  bottom. 
In  this  manner  they  continue  till  nothing  re- 
mains in  the  bottom  of  the  batea  but  a  httle  hea- 
vy black  sand  mi^d  with  a  few  grains  of  gold, 
the  value  of  which  (to  the  trayful)  varies  from 
one  to  twelve  cents,  and  sometimes,  in  very 
rich  soils,  to  twenty-five  or  more.  Some  at- 
tempts have  been  made  to  wash  with  ma- 
chinery, but  as  yet  without  success;  partly 
owing  to  the  scarcity  of  water,  but  as  nmch 
perhaps  to  a  lack  of  perseverance,  and  to  the 
arbitrary  restrictions  imposed  upon  foreigners, 
who,  after  all,  are  the  only  persons  that  have 
ever  attempted  any  improvements  of  the  kind. 
An  instance  or  two  will  fully  illustrate  the 
embarrassments  and  disadvantages  to  which 
foreigners  are  subject,  in  embarking  capital 
in  mining  enterprises  in  this  country. 

When  the  Placer  was  in  its  greatest  honan 
za — ^yielding  very  large  profits  to  those  en- 
gaged in  the  business — ^the  *  mining  fever' 
rose  to  such  a  tremendous  pitch  among 
the  New  Mexicans,  particularly  the  govern- 
ment officers,  that  every  one  fancied  he  saw 
a  door  opened  for  the  accumulation  of  a 
princely  fortune. 

About  the  commencement  of  this  gold 
mania,  a  very  arbitrary  and  tyrannical  meas- 
ure was  adopted  in  order  to  wrest  from  a  per- 
secuted Gachupin^  his  interest  in  a  mine,  in 

*  A  term  used  to  designate  European  Spaniards  in  America. 


MINING   ANECDOTE.  171 

which  he  had  made  a  very  propitious  com- 
mencement. This  mine,  different  from  the 
rest  of  the  Placer,  consisted  of  a  vein  of  gold 
in  a  stratum  of  rock,  which  it  was  necessary 
to  grind  and  separate  with  quicksilver ;  and  as 
it  belonged  to  a  native  named  Ortiz  who  knew 
nothing  of  this  operation,  the  latter  formed  a 
partnership  with  Don  Damaso  Lopez,  the  Ga- 
chupin  before  alluded  to,  who  had  some  ex- 
perience and  skill  in  mining  operations  and 
the  extraction  of  metals.  The  partners  went 
vigorously  to  work,  and  at  the  close  of  the  first 
month  found  that  their  net  profits  amounted 
to  several  hundred  dollars,  consisting  in  a  few 
balls  of  gold.  At  the  sight  of  these,  Ortiz  was 
so  overjoyed  that  he  must  needs  exhibit  his 
valuable  acquisitions  to  the  governor  and 
other  officers  and  magnates  of  the  capital, 
who,  with  characteristic  cupidity,  at  once  be- 
grudged the  Gachupin  his  prospective  fortune. 
A  compact  was  thereupon  entered  into  be- 
tween the  oficiaks  and  the  acquiescent  Ortiz,  to 
work  the  mine  on  their  joint  account,  and  to 
exclude  Lopez  altogether.  This  they  effected 
by  reviving  the  old  decree  of  expulsion  (spok- 
en of  in  another  place),  which  had  virtually 
become  obsolete.  The  unfortunate  victim  of 
this  outrageous  conspiracy  was  accordingly 
ordered  to  the  frontier,  as  the  patriotic  officers 
alleged  that  they  "  could  no  longer  connive 
at  his  residence  so  near  the  capital  in  contra- 
vention of  the  laws." 

The  new  company  now  commenced  opera- 
tions with  additional  zeal  and  earnestness. 


172  POLITICAL   OPPRESSION. 

But  they  were  destined  to  expiate  their  ill  con- 
duct in  a  way  they  had  least  anticipated. 
The  ores  collected  during  the  first  month, 
had  been  ground  and  impregnated  with  quick- 
silver, and  the  amalgamation  being  supposed 
complete,  all  the  partners  in  the  concern  were 
summoned  to  witness  the  splendid  results  of 
the  new  experiments.  Yet,  after  the  most 
diUgent  examination,  not  a  grain  of  gold  ap- 
peared !  The  fact  is,  that  they  were  all  ig- 
norant of  mining  operations,  and  knew  no- 
thing of  the  art  of  separating  the  metals  from 
the  ores.  The  mine  had  therefore  soon  to 
be  abandoned,  and  Ortiz  found  himself  pros- 
trated by  his  losses — a  victim  to  the  unprinci- 
pled rapacity  of  his  new  associates. 

Lest  foreigners  generally  should  share  the 
wealth  which  was  being  developed  in  these 
mountains,  an  order  was  subsequently  issued 
prohibiting  all  except  natives  from  working  at 
the  mines.  Some  who  had  commenced  ope- 
rations at  the  Placer,  and  incurred  considera- 
ble expense,  were  compelled  suddenly  to 
break  up,  with  an  entire  loss  of  all  their  labor 
and  outlays. 

Acts  of  political  oppression  like  these  have 
discouraged  Americans  from  making  any  fur- 
ther attempts,  although  the  decree  of  prohibi- 
tion has  ceased  to  be  enforced.  Could  any 
dependence  be  placed  in  the  integrity  of  the 
government,  I  have  no  doubt  that,  with  suffi- 
cient capital  and  the  aid  of  machinery  (such 
as  is  used  in  the  mines  of  Georgia  and  Caro- 
lina), the  old  mines  of  this  province  might  be 


GAMBUCmOS.  173 

reopened,  and  a  great  number  of  the  pla- 
wres  very  extensively  and  profitably  worked. 
But  as  New  Mexico  is  governed  at  present, 
there  is  no  security  in  an  enterprise  of  the 
kind.  The  progress  of  a  foreign  adventurer 
is  always  liable  to  be  arrested  by  the  jealousy 
of  the  government,  upon  the  first  flattering 
bonanza,  as  the  cited  instances  abundantly 
demonstrate.  Americans  in  particular  would 
have  little  to  hape  for  in  the  way  of  redress; 
for  our  government  has  shown  itself  so  tardy 
in  redressing  or  revenging  injuries  done  its 
citizens  by  foreign  states,  that  they  .would 
be  oppressed,  as  they  have  been,  with  less 
scruple  because  with  more  impunity  than  the 
subjects  of  any  other  nation. 

The  gold  regions  are,  for  the  most  part,  a 
kind  of  common  property,  and  have  been 
wrought  chiefly  by  an  indigent  class  of  peo- 
ple, known  familiarly  as  gambucinos,  a  name 
apphed  to  petty  miners  who  work  '  on  their 
own  hook.'  Among  these  one  very  seldom 
finds  any  foreigners ;  for  according  to  the  pre- 
sent simple  method  of  working,  the  profit  is  too 
small  and  too  precarious  to  entice  the  indepen- 
dent American  laborer,  who  is  seldom  willing 
to  work  for  less  than  a  dollar  a  day,  clear  of  au 
expenses;  while  the  Mexican  gambucino  is 
content  with  two  or  three  reaks,  most  of  which 
is  required  to  furnish  him  food.  Therefore 
these  poor  miners  lead  a  miserable  life  after  all. 
When  short  of  means  they  often  support  them- 
selves upon  only  a  real  each  per  day,  their 
usual  food  consisting  of  bread  and  a  kind  of 


174  NEW   MINES. 

coarse  cake-sugar  called piloncillo,  to  which  is 
sometimes  added  a  little  crude  ranchero 
cheese  ;   yet  they  seem  perfectly  satisfied. 

To  prevent  collisions  among  such  heteroge- 
neous multitudes  as  are  to  be  found  at  the  min- 
ing places,  some  municipal  provisions  have 
been  established,  in  pursuance  of  which  any 
person  may  open  a  labor  or  pit  on  unoccupied 
ground  not  nearer  than  ten  paces  to  another, 
and  is  entitled  to  the  same  extent  in  every  di- 
rection, not  interfering  with  prior  claims — his 
labor  being  confirmed  for  a  small  fee  by  apph- 
catiorr  to  the  alcalde.  But  if  the  proprietor 
abandon  his  labor  for  a  certain  time,  any  one 
that  chooses  may  take  possession. 

Besides  the  Placer  of  which  I  have  already 
spoken,  others  have  lately  been  discovered  in 
the  same  ledge  of  mountains  towards  the 
south,  one  of  which  is  now  extensively  work- 
ed, being  already  filled  with  retail  shops  of 
every  description,  where  all  the  gold  that  is 
extracted,  is  either  sold  or  bartered.  The 
'gambucinos  being  generally  destitute  of  all 
other  resources,  are  often  obliged  to  dispose 
of  their  gold  daily — and  very  frequently  in 
driblets  of  but  a  few  cents  value.  Placeres  of 
gold  have  also  been  discovered  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Abiquiu,  Taos  and  elsewhere,  which 
have  been  worked  to  some  extent  In  truth, 
as  some  of  the  natives  have  justly  remarked, 
New  Mexico  is  almost  one  continuous  ^/ac^'r  ; 
traces  of  gold  being  discoverable  over  nearly 
the  whole  surface  of  the  country.  The  opi- 
nion formerly  entertained  that  gold  is  only  to 


p  SILVER   MINES.  175 

be  found  in  southern  climates,  seems  fully 
confuted  here  ;  for  at  a  point  called  Sangre  de 
Cristo,  considerably  north  of  Taos,  (above  the 
37th  degree  of  latitude),  and  which  from  its 
location  among  the  snowy  mountains  of  that 
region,  is  ice-bound  over  half  the  year,  a  very 
rich  placer  has  been  discovered  ;  yet  owing 
to  the  pecuUarly  exposed  situation  in  which 
it  lies,  it  has  been  very  httle  worked. 

For  the  last  century  no  silver  mines  have 
been  in  successful  operation  in  New  Mexico. 
A  fcAv  years  ago  there  was  discovered  near 
the  village  of  Manzano,  in  the  mountains  of 
Tome,  a  vein  of  silver  which  bid  fair  to  prove 
profitable ;  but  when  the  ore  came  to  be  test- 
ed, the  rock  was  found  to  be  so  hard  that  the 
pursuit  has  been  entirely  abandoned. 

In  addition  to  gold  and  silver,  there  are  also 
to  be  found,  in  many  isolated  spots,  ores  of 
copper,  zinc,  and  lead ;  although  the  latter  is 
so  mixed  up  with  copper  and  other  hard 
metals,  as  to  be  almost  unfit  for  ordinary  pur- 
poses. The  copper  obtained  in  the  province 
has  frequently  been  found  to  contain  a  slight 
mixture  of  the  precious  metals,  well  worth 
extracting.     Iron  is  also  abundant. 

Besides  the  mines  of  metals  which  have 
been  discovered,  or  yet  remain  concealed  in  the 
mountains  of  New  Mexico,  those  of  Salt  (or 
salt  lakes,  as  they  would  perhaps  be  called),  the 
Salinas,  are  of  no  inconsiderable  importance. 
Near  a  hundred  miles  southward  from  the 
capital,  on  the  high  table  land  between  the 
Rio  ^]  Norte  and  Pecos,  there  are  some  ex- 


176  SALINAS,  OR    SALT    LAKES,  , 

tensive  salt  ponds,  which  afford  an  inexhausti- 
ble supply  of  this  indispensable  commodity, 
not  only  for  the  consumption  of  this  province, 
but  for  portions  of  the  adjoming  departments. 
The  largest  of  these  Salinas  is  five  or  six  miles 
in  circumference.  The  best  time  to  collect 
the  salt  is  during  the  dry  season,  when  the 
lakes  contain  but  httle  water ;  but  even  when 
flooded,  salt  may  be  scooped  up  from  the 
bottom,  where  it  is  deposited  in  immense  beds, 
in  many  places  of  unknown  depth ;  and, 
when  dried,  much  resembles  the  common 
alum  salt  The  best,  however,  which  is  of 
superior  quahty,  rises  as  a  scum  upon  the  wa- 
ter. A  great  many  years  ago,  a  firm  causeway 
w^as  thrown  up  through  the  middle  of  the 
principal  lake,  upon  which  the  carretas  and 
naules  are  driven,  and  loaded  with  salt  still 
dripping  with  water.  The  Salinas  are  pubUc 
property,  and  the  people  resort  to  them  several 
times  a  year, — in  caravans,  for  protection 
against  the  savages  of  the  desert  in  which 
they  are  situated.  Although  this  salt  costs 
nothing  but  the  labor  of  carrying  it  away,  the 
danger  from  the  Indians  and  the  privations 
experienced  in  an  expedition  to  the  Salinas  are 
such,  that  it  is  seldom  sold  in  the  capital  for 
less  than  a  dollar  per  bushel  On  the  same 
great  plain  still  a  hundred  miles  further  south, 
there  is  another  Salina  of  the  same  character. 
While  I  am  on  this  subject,  I  cannot  for- 
bear a  brief  notice  of  the  mineral  springs  of 
New  Mexico.  There  are  several  warm  springs 
{pjos  caUentes),  whose  waters  are  gqgerally 


MINERAL    SPRINGS,  ETC.  177 

sulphurous,  and  considered  as  highly  effica- 
cious in  the  cure  of  rheumatisms  and  other 
chronic  diseases.  Some  are  bold  springs, 
and  of  a  very  agreeable  temperature  for  bath- 
ing ;  but  there  is  one  in  the  west  of  the  pro- 
vince, which  does  not  flow  very  freely,  but 
merely  escapes  through  the  crevices  of  the 
rocks,  yet  it  is  hot  enough  to  cook  any  article 
of  food.  It  is  a  curious  phenomenon,  that, 
within  a  few  paces  of  it,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
hot  springs  of  Arkansas,  there  is  another 
spring  perfectly  cold. 

New  Mexico  affords  many  interesting  geo- 
logical productions,  of  which  the  most  useful 
to  the  natives  is  yeso  or  gypsum,  which 
abounds  in  many  places.  Being  found  in 
fohated  blocks,  composed  of  laminae,  which 
are  easily  separated  with  a  knife  into  sheets 
from  the  thickness  of  paper  to  that  of  window- 
glass,  and  almost  as  transparent  as  the  latter, 
it  is  used  to  a  great  extent  in  the  ranchos  and 
villages  for  window-hghts,  for  which  indeed 
it  is  a  tolerable  substitute. 

In  several  places  about  the  borders  of  the 
mesas  are  to  be  found  some  beautiful  speci- 
mens of  petrified  trees.  One  lies  between 
Santa  Fe  and  the  Placer,  broken  into  blocks 
since  its  petrifaction,  which  shows  every  knot, 
crack  and  splinter  almost  as  natural  as  in  its 
Ugneous  state.  It  is  said  that  there  are 
some  of  these  arboreous  petrifactions  in  the 
\icinity  of  Galisteo,  still  standing  erect 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Domestic  Animals  and  their  Condition — Indifference  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Horse-breeding — Caballos  de  Silla — Popularity  and 
Usefulness  of  the  Mule — Mode  of  harnessing  and  lading 
Mules  for  a  Journey — Arrieros  and  their  System — The  Mulera 
or  Bell-mare — Surprising  feats  of  the  Muleteers  and  Vaqueros 
— The  Lazo  and  its  uses — Ridiculous  Usages  of  the  country  in 
regard  to  the  Ownership  of  Animals — Anecdote  of  a  Mexican 
Colonel — The  Burro  or  domestic  ass  and  its  Virtues — Shep- 
herds and  their  Habits — The  Itinerant  Herds  of  the  Plains — 
Sagacity  of  the  Shepherds'  Dogs — The  Sheep  Trade — Destruc- 
tion of  Cattle  by  the  Indians — Philosophical  notions  of  the 
Marauders — Excellent  Mutton — Goats  and  their  Utility — AVild 
Animals  and  their  Character — A  '  Bear  Scrape' — Wolves, 
Panthers,  Wild  Birds  and  Reptiles — The  Honey-bee,  etc. 

Nothing  that  has  come  within  my  sphere 
of  observation  in  New  Mexico,  has  astonish- 
ed me  more  than  the  Httle  attention  that  is 
paid  to  the  improvement  of  domestic  animals. 
While  other  nations  have  absolutely  gone  mad 
in  their  endeavors  to  better  their  breeds  of 
horses,  and  have  ransacked  the  four  quarters 
of  the  world  for  the  best  blood  and  purest 
pedigrees,  the  New  Mexicans,  so  justly  cele- 
brated for  skilful  horsemanship,  and  so  much 
devoted  to  equestrian  exercise,  that  they  have 
been  styled  a  race  of  centaurs,  leave  the 
propagation   of  their    horses  exclusively  to 


MEXICAN    HORSES.  179 

chance  ;  converting  their  best  and  handsomest 
steeds  into  saddle-horses. 

Their  race  of  horses  is  identical  with  that 
which  is  found  running  wild  ori  the  Prairies, 
familiarly  known  by  the  name  of  mustang. 
Although  generally  very  small,  they  are  quick, 
active  and  spirited  :  and  were  they  not  com- 
monly so  much  injured  in  the  breaking,  they 
would  perhaps  be  as  hardy  and  long-lived  as 
any  other  race  in  existence.  Some  of  their  ca- 
hallos  de  siUa  or  saddle-horses  are  so  remarkably 
well  trained,  that  they  will  stop  suddenly  upon 
the  slightest  check,  charge  against  a  wall  with- 
out shrinking,  and  even  attempt  to  clamber 
up  its  sides.  In  addition  to  this,  a  complete 
riding  horse  should  have  a  pecuhar  up-and- 
down  gait,  affording  all  the  exercise  of  the 
most  violent  trotter,  while  he  gets  over  the 
ground  so  slowly  as  to  enable  the  caballero  to 
enjoy  the  '  pleasures'  of  a  fatiguing  ride  of 
hours,  without  losing  sigKt  of  his  mistress's 
balcony. 

The  little  attention  paid  to  the  breeding  of 
horses  in  New  Mexico,  may  perhaps  be  ac- 
counted for  from  the  fact  that,  until  lately, 
when  the  continued  depredations  of  the  hostile 
Indians  discouraged  them  from  their  favorite 
pursuit,  the  people  of  the  country  had  bestow- 
ed all  their  care  in  the  raising  of  mules.  This 
animal  is  in  fact  to  the  Mexican,  what  the 
camel  has  always  been  to  the  Arab — invalua- 
ble for  the  transportation  of  freight  over  sandy 
deserts  and  mountainous  roads,  where  no 
other  means  of  conveyance  could  be  used  to 


180  HARNESSING    PACK-MULES. 

such  advantage.  These  mules  will  travel  fi  i 
hundreds  of  miles  with  a  load  of  the  most 
bulky  and  un^vieldy  articles,  weighing  fre- 
quently three  or  four  hundred  pounds. 

The  Aparejo  (or  pack-saddle,  if  it  can  be  so 
styled),  is  a  large  pad,  consisting  of  a  leathern 
case  stuffed  with  hay,  which  covers  the  back 
of  the  mule  and  extends  half  way  down  on 
both  sides.  This  is  secured  with  a  wide  sea- 
grass  bandage,  with  which  the  poor  brute  is 
so  tightly  laced  as  to  reduce  the  middle  of  its 
body  to  half  its  natural  size.  During  the 
operation  of  lacing,  the  corseted  quadruped 
stands  trembling  in  perfect  agony,  not  an  inapt 
emblem  of  some  fashionable  exquisites  who 
are  to  be  met  with  lounging  on  tip-toe,  in  all 
the  principal  thoroughfares  of  large  cities. 

The  muleteers  contend  that  a  tightly  laced 
beast,  will  travel,  or  at  least  support  burdens, 
with  greater  ease  ;  and  though  they  carry  this 
to  an  extreme,  still  we  can  hardly  doubt  that 
a  reasonable  tension  supports  and  braces  the 
nmscles.  It  is  necessary  too  for  the  aparejo  to 
be  firmly  bound  on  to  prevent  its  slipping 
and  chafing  the  mule's  back ;  indeed,  with  ah 
these  precautions,  the  back,  withers  and  sides 
of  the  poor  brute  are  often  horribly  mangled — 
so  much  so  that  I  have  seen  the  rib-bones  bare, 
from  day  to  day,  Avhile  carrying  a  usual  load 
of  three  hundred  pounds !  The  aparejo  is  also 
furnished  with  a  huge  crupper,  which  often 
lacerates  the  tail  most  shockingly.  It  is  this 
packing  that  leaves  most  of  the  lasting  cica-* 
trices  and  marks  so  common  upon  Mexican 
mules. 


ART    OF    PACKING.  181 

The  carga^  if  a  single  package,  is  laid  across 
the  mule's  back,  but  when  composed  of  two, 
they  are  placed  lengthwise,  side  by  side ;  and 
being  coupled  with  a  cord,  they  are  bound 
upon  the  aparejo  with  a  long  rope  of  sea- 
grass  or  raw-hide,  which  is  so  skilfully  and 
tensely  twined  about  the  packages  as  effectual- 
ly to  secure  them  upon  the  animal.  The  mule 
is  at  first  so  tightly  bound  that  it  seems  scarce- 
ly able  to  move ;  but  the  weight  of  the  pack 
soon  settles  the  aparejo,  and  so  loosens  the 
girths  and  cords  as  frequently  to  render  it  ne- 
cessary to  tighten  them  again  soon  after  getting 
under  way.  It  keeps  most  of  the  muleteers 
actively  employed  during  the  day,  to  main- 
tain the  packs  in  condition  ;  for  they  often  lose 
their  balance  and  sometimes  fall  off.  This  is 
done  without  detaining  the  atajo  (drove  of 
pack-mules),  the  rest  of  which  travel  on  while 
one  is  stopped  to  adjust  its  disordered  pack. 
Indeed  it  is  apt  to  occasion  much  trouble  to 
stop  a  heavily  laden  atajo ;  for,  if  allowed  a 
moment's  rest,  the  mules  are  inclined  to  he 
down,  when  it  is  with  much  difficulty  they 
can  rise  again  with  their  loads.  In  their  ef- 
forts to  do  so  they  sometimes  so  strain  their 
loins  as  to  injure  them  ever  after.  The  day's 
travel  is  made  without  a  nooning  respite ;  for 
the  consequent  unloading  and  reloading 
would  consume  too  much  time :  and  as  a 
heavily-packed  atajo  should  rarely  continue 
en  route  more  than  five  or  six  hours,  the  jor- 
nada  de  recna  (day's  journey  of  a  pack-drove) 
b  usually  but  twelve  or  fifteen  miles. 

16 


182  ARRIEROS    AND 

It  is  truly  remarkable  to  observe  with  what 
dexterity  and  skill  the  Arrieros,  or  muleteers, 
harness  and  adjust  the  packs  of  merchandise 
upon  their  beasts.  Half  a  dozen  usually  suffice 
for  forty  or  fifty  mules.  Two  men  are  always 
engaged  at  a  time  in  the  dispatch  of  each  ani- 
mal, and  rarely  occupy  five  minutes  in  the 
complete  adjustment  of  his  aparejo  and  carga. 
In  this  operation  they  frequently  demonstrate  a 
wonderful  degree  of  skill  in  the  application  of 
their  strength.  A  single  man  will  often  seize 
a  package,  which,  on  a  '  dead  hft,'  he  could 
hardly  have  raised  from  the  ground,  and  mak- 
ing a  fulcrum  of  his  knees  and  a  lever  of  his 
arms  and  body,  throw  it  upon  the  mule's 
back  with  as  much  apparent  ease  as  if  the 
effort  cost  him  but  httle  ^ertion.  At  stop- 
ping-places the  task  of  unpacking  is  exe- 
cuted with  still  greater  expedition.  The  pack- 
ages are  piled  in  a  row  upon  the  ground,  and 
in  case  of  rain  the  aparejos  are  laid  upon  them, 
over  which  is  stretched  a  covering  of  mantas 
de  guangoche  (sheets  of  sea-grass  texture), 
which  protects  the  goods  against  the  severest 
storms ;  a  ditch  also  being  cut  around  the  pile, 
to  prevent  the  water  from  running  under- 
neath. In  this  way  freights  are  carried  from 
point  to  point,  and  over  the  most  rugged  moun- 
tain passes  at  a  much  cheaper  rate  than  for- 
eigners can  transport  their  merchandise  in 
wagons,  even  through  a  level  country.  The 
cheapness  of  this  mode  of  transportation 
arises  from  the  very  low  wages  paid  to  the 
arrieros,  apd  the  httle  expense  incurred  to  feed 


THEIR    SYSTEM.  183 

both  them  and  the  mules.  The  salary  of  the 
muleteer  ranges  from  two  to  live  dollars  per 
month ;  and  as  their  food  seldom  consists  of 
anything  else  except  corn  and  frijoles,  it  can 
be  procured  at  very  little  cost.  When  the  arii- 
eros  get  any  meat  at  all,  it  is  generally  at  their 
own  expense. 

An  atajo  is  conducted  in  a  very  systematic 
manner,  each  arriero  having  his  appropriate 
sphere  of  action  allotted  to  him.  They  have 
also  their  regulations  and  technicalities,  which, 
if  not  as  numerous,  are  about  as  unintelligi- 
ble to  the  uninitiated  as  sailors'  terms.  One 
person,  called  the  savanero,  has  the  charge  of 
the  mules  at  night,  which  are  all  turned  loose 
without  tether  or  hopple,  with  the  mulera  or 
bell-mare,  to  prevent  them  from  straying 
abroad.  Although  the  attachment  of  the 
mules  to  the  mulera  appears  very  great,  it 
seems  to  be  about  as  much  for  the  bell  as  for 
the  animal.  What  the  queen-bee  is  to  a 
hive,  so  is  the  mulera  to  an  atajo.  No  matter 
what  may  be  the  temper  of  a  mule,  it  can 
seldom  be  driven  away  from  her ;  and  if  she 
happen  to  be  taken  from  among  her  associates, 
the  latter  immediately  become  depressed  and 
melancholy,  and  ramble  and  whinny  in  every 
direction,  as  if  they  were  completely  lost.  In 
addition  to  preparing  food  for  the  party,  it  is 
the  office  of  the  madre  (or  mother,  as  the  cook 
of  the  company  is  facetiously  called)  to  lead 
the  mulera  ahead,  during  the  journey,  after 
which  the  whole  pack  follows  in  orderly  pro- 
cession. 


184  EQUESTRIAJN   FEATS. 

The  muleteers,  as  well  as  the  vaqueros 
(cow-herds),  are  generally  mounted  upon  swift 
and  well-trained  horses,  and  in  their  manage- 
ment of  the  animals  will  often  perform  many 
surprising  feats,  which  would  grace  an  eques- 
trian circus  in  any  country ;  such,  for  instance, 
as  picking  up  a  dollar  from  the  ground  at 
every  pass  with  the  horse  at  full  gallop.  But 
the  greatest  display  of  skill  and  agihty  con- 
sists in  their  dextrous  use  of  the  lazo  or  lareat,^ 
which  is  usually  made  of  horse-hair,  or  sea- 
grass  tightly  twisted  together,  with  a  conve- 
nient noose  at  one  end.  Their  aim  is  always 
more  sure  when  the  animal  to  be  caught  is 
running  at  fidl  speed,  for  then  it  has  no  time 
to  dodge  the  lareat.  As  soon  as  the  noose  is 
cast,  the  lazador  fetches  the  end  of  his  lazo 
a  turn  round  the  high  pommel  of  his  saddle, 
and  by  a  quick  manoeuvre  the  wildest  horse 
is  brought  up  to  a  stand  or  topsy-turvy  at  his 
pleasure.  By  this  process,  the  head  of  the 
animal  is  turned  towards  his  subduer,  who,  in 
order  to  obtain  the  mastery  over  him  more 
completely,  seldom  fails  to  throw  a  hozal  (or 
half-hitch,  as  boatmen  would  say)  around  the 
nose,  though  at  full  rope's  length. 

If  the  object  of  pursuit  happens  to  be  a 
cow  or  an  ox,  the  lazo  is  usually  thrown  about 
the  horns  instead  of  the  neck.     Two  vaqueroSy 

*  Lasso  and  lariat ^  as  most  ijsually  written,  are  evidently  cor- 
ruptions of  the  Spanish  lazo  and  la  reata  (the  latter  with  the  arti- 
cle la  compounded),  both  meaning  kinds  of  rope.  I  have  there- 
fore preferred  retaining  the  orthography  indicated  by  their  etymo- 
logy- 


USE    OF    THE    LAZO.  185 

each  with  his  rope  to  the  horns,  will  thus  sub- 
ject the  wildest  and  most  savage  bull,  pro- 
vided they  are  mounted  upon  well-trained 
steeds.  Wiiile  the  infuriated  animal  makes  a 
lunge  at  one  of  his  pursuers,  the  other  wheels 
round  and  pulls  upon  his  rope,  which  always 
brings  the  beast  about  in  the  midst  of  his  ca- 
reer ;  so  that  between  the  two  he  is  jerked  to 
and  fro  till  he  becomes  exhausted  and  ceases 
to  make  any  further  resistance.  The  use  of 
the  lazo  is  not  confined  to  the  arrieros  and  vaque- 
ros,  although  these  generally  acquire  most  skill 
in  that  exercise:  it  prevails  in  every  rank 
of  life ;  and  no  man,  especially  among  the 
rancheros,  would  consider  his  education  com- 
plete until  he  had  learned  this  national  ac- 
complishment. They  acquire  it  in  fact  from 
infancy  ;  for  it  forms  one  of  the  principal  ru- 
ral sports  of  children,  who  may  daily  be  seen 
with  their  lazitos,  noosing  the  dogs  and  chick- 
ens about  the  yards,  in  every  direction. 

The  lazo  is  often  employed  also  as  a  'wea- 
pon' both  offensive  and  defensive.  In  skir- 
mishes with  the  Indians,  the  mounted  vaquero, 
if  haplessly  v^thout  arms,  will  throw  this  for- 
midable object  round  the  neck  or  the  body  of 
his  enemy,  who,  before  he  has  time  to  disen- 
cumber himself,  is  jerked  to  the  ground  and 
dragged  away  at  full  speed ;  when,  if  his 
brains  are  not  beaten  out  against  the  stones, 
roots,  or  trees,  he  becomes  at  least  so  stunned 
and  disabled  that  the  lazador  can  dispatch  him 
at  his  leisure.  The  panther,  the  bear,  and 
other  ferocious  animals  of  the  mountains  and 

16* 


186  FIERRO    AND    VENTA. 

prairies,  are  also  successfully  attacked  in  this 
manner. 

The  laws  and  cust<^ms  of  the  country  with 
regard  to  the  ownership  of  animals  are  very 
annoying  to  the  inexperienced  foreign  travel- 
ler. No  matter  how  many  proprietors  a  horse 
or  mule  may  have  had,  every  one  marks  him 
Avith  a  huge  hieroglyphic  brand,  which  is  call- 
ed the  jierro^  and  again,  upon  selling  him, 
with  his  venta^  or  sale-brand;  until  at  last 
these  scars  become  so  multipUed  as  to  render 
it  impossible  for  persons  not  versed  in  this 
species  of  'heraldry,'  to  determine  whether 
the  animal  has  been  properly  vented  or  not : 
yet  any  jierro  without  its  corresponding  verda 
lays  the  beast  hable  to  the  claim  of  the  brand- 
er.  Foreigners  are  the  most  frequently  sub- 
jected to  this  kind  of  imposition ;  and  when  a 
party  of  estrangeros  enters  any  of  the  southern 
towns,  they  are  immediately  surrounded  by  a 
tropp  of  loungers,  who  carefully  examine  eve- 
ry horse  and  mule ;  when,  should  they  by 
diance  discover  any  unvented  brand,  they  im- 
mediately set  to  work  to  find  some  one  with 
a  branding-iron  of  the  same  shape,  by  which 
the  beast  is  at  once  claimed  and  taken ;  for  in 
all  legal  processes  the  only  proof  required  of  the 
claimant  is  his  Jierro,  or  branding-iron,  which, 
if  found  to  assimilate  in  shape  with  the  mark 
on  the  animal,  decides  the  suit  in  his  favor. 
A  colonel  in  Chihuahua  once  claimed  a  mule 
of  me  in  this  manner,  but  as  I  was  convinced 
that  I  had  bought  it  of  the  legitimate  owner, 
1  refused  to  give  it  up.     The  officer,  unwilhng 


THE    B0RRO.  187 

to  lose  his  prize,  started  immediately  for  the 
alcalde,  in  hopes  of  inducing  that  functionary 
to  lend  him  the  aid  of  the  law ;  but  during 
his  absence  I  caused  the  shoulder  of  the  ani- 
mal to  be  shorn,  so  that  the  venta  became  dis- 
tinctly visible.  As  soon  as  the  discovery  was 
made  known  to  the  colonel  and  his  judge, 
they  made  a  precipitate  exit,  as  though  con- 
scious of  detected  fraud. 

But  while  I  fully  acknowledge  the  preten- 
sions of  the  mule,  as  an  animal  of  general 
usefulness,  I  must  not  forget  paying  a  passing 
tribute  to  that  meek  and  unostentatious  mem- 
ber of  the  brute  family,  the  '  patient  ass ;'  or, 
as  it  is  famiharly  called  by  the  natives,  el  burro. 
This  docUe  creature  is  here  emphatically  the 
*  poor  man's  friend,'  being  turned  to  an  infi- 
nite variety  of  uses,  and  always  submissive 
under  the  heaviest  burdens.  He  is  not  only 
made  .to  carry  his  master's  grain,  his  fuel,  his 
water,  and  his  luggage,  but  his  wife  and  his 
children.  Frequently  the  whole  family  is 
stowed  away  together  upon  one  diminutive 
donkey.  In  fact,  the  chief  riding  animal  of 
the  peasant  is  the  burro,  upon  which  saddle, 
bridle,  or  halter,  is  seldom  used.  The  rider, 
seated  astride  his  haunches  instead  of  his 
back,  guides  the  docile  beast  with  a  bludgeon 
which  he  carries  in  his  hand. 

Nothing,  perhaps,  has  been  more  system- 
atically attended  to  in  New  Mexico  than  the 
raising  of  sheep.  When  the  territory  was  at 
the  zenith  of  its  prosperity,  ranchos  were  to  be 
met  with  upon  the  borders  of  every  stream, 


188  SHEEP   AND    SHEPHERDS. 

and  in  the  vicinity  of  every  mountain  where 
water  was  to  be  had.  Even  upon  the  arid 
and  desert  plains,  and  many  miles  away  from 
brook  or  pond,  immense  flocks  were  driven 
out  to  pasture,  and  only  taken  to  water  once 
in  two  or  three  days.  On  these  occasions  it 
is  customary  for  the  shepherds  to  load  their 
burros  with  guages  filled  with  water,  and  re- 
turn again  with  their  folds  to  the  plains.  The 
guage  is  a  kind  of  gourd,  of  which  there  are 
some  beautiful  specimens  with  two  bulbs; 
the  intervening  neck  serving  to  retain  the 
cord  by  which  it  is  carried. 

These  itinerant  herds  of  sheep  generally 
pass  the  night  wherever  the  evening  finds 
them,  without  cot  or  enclosure.  Before  night- 
fall the  principal  shepherd  sallies  forth  in 
search  of  a  suitable  site  for  his  hato,  or  tem- 
porary sheep-fold ;  and  building  a  fire  on  the 
most  convenient  spot,  the  sheep  geirerally 
draw  near  it  of  their  own  accord.  Should 
they  incline  to  scatter,  the  shepherd  then  seizes 
a  torch  and  performs  a  circuit  or  two  around 
the  entire  fold,  by  which  manoeuvre,  in  their 
efforts  to  avoid  him,  the  heads  of  the  sheep 
are  all  turned  inwards;  and  in  that  condition 
they  generally  remain  till  morning,  without 
once  attempting  to  stray.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  add  that  the  flock  is  well  guarded  during 
the  night  by  watchful  and  sagacious  dogs 
against  prowling  wolves  or  other  animals  of 
prey.  The  well-trained  shepherd's  dog  of  this 
country  is  indeed  a  prodigy :  two  or  three  o^ 
them  will  follow  a  flock  of  sheep  for  a  dis 


THE    SHEEP-TRADE.  189 

tance  of  several  miles  as  orderly  as  a  shep- 
herd, and  drive  them  back  to  the  pen  again 
at  night,  without  any  other  guidance  than 
their  own  extraordinary  instincts. 

In  former  times  there  were  extensive  pro- 
prietors who  had  their  ranchos  scattered  over 
half  the  pro^dnce,  in  some»  cases  amounting 
to  from  three  to  five  hundred  thousand  head 
of  sheep.  The  custom  has  usually  been  to 
farm  out  the  ewes  to  the  rancheros,  who  make 
a  return  of  twenty  per  cent,  upon  the  stock 
in  merchantable  carneros — a  term  applied  to 
sheep  generally,  and  particularly  to  wethers 
fit  for  market. 

Sheep  may  be  reckoned  the  staple  produc- 
tion of  New  Mexico,  and  the  principal  article 
of  exportation.  Between  ten  and  twenty 
years  ago,  about  200,000  head  were  annually 
driven  to  the  southern  markets ;  indeed,  it  is 
asserted,  that,  during  the  most  flourishing 
times,  as  many  as  500,000  were  exported  in 
one  year.  This  trade  has  constituted  a  profita- 
ble business  to  some  of  the  ricos  of  the  coun- 
try. They  would  buy  sheep  of  the  poor  ran- 
cheros at  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  cents  per 
head,  and  sell  them  at  from  one  to  two  hun- 
dred per  cent,  advance  in  the  southern  mar- 
kets. A  large  quantity  of  wool  is  of  course 
produced,  but  of  an  inferior  quality.  Incon- 
siderable amounts  have  been  introduced  into 
the  United  States  via  Missouri,  which  have 
sometimes  been  sold  as  low  as  fifteen  cents 
per  pound.  It  is  bought,  however,  at  the 
New  Mexican  ranchcfe  at  a  ve^  low  rate — 


190  INDIAN    RAVAGES. 

three  or  four  cents  per  pound,  or  (as  mote 
generally  sold)  per  fleece,  which  will  average, 
perhaps,  but  little  over  a  pound.  Yet,  from  the 
superiority  of  the  pasturage  and  chmate.  New 
Mexico  might  doubtless  grow  the  finest  wool 
in  the  world.  In  conformity  with  their  char- 
acteristic tardiness  in  improvement,  however, 
the  natives  have  retained  their  original  stocks, 
which  are  wretchedly  degenerate.  They  for- 
merly sheared  their  flocks  chiefly  for  their 
health,  and  rarely  preserved  the  fleece,  as 
their  domestic  manufactures  consumed  but  a 
comparatively  small  quantity. 

But  the  ganado  menor^  or  small  beasts  of 
pasture  (that  is,  sheep  and  goats  in  general), 
have  of  late  been  very  much  reduced  in 
quantity ;  having  suffered  to  a  deplorable  ex- 
tent from  the  frequent  inroads  of  the  abori- 
ginal '  lords  of  the  soil,'  who,  every  now  and 
then,  whenever  hunger  or  caprice  prompts 
them,  attack  the  ranchos,  murder  the  shep- 
herds, and  drive  the  sheep  away  in  flocks  of 
thousands.  Indeed,  the  Indians  have  been 
heard  to  observe,  that  they  would  long  before 
this  have  destroyed  every  sheep  in  the  coun- 
try, but  that  they  prefer  leaving  a  few  behind 
for  breeding  purposes,  in  order  that  their  Mexi- 
can shepherds  may  raise  them  new  supplies! 

The  sheep  of  New  Mexico  are  exceedingly 
small,  with  very  coarse  wool,  and  scarcely  fit 
for  anything  else  than  mutton,  for  which,  in- 
deed, they  are  justly  celebrated.  Their  flesh 
has  a  peculiarly  delicious  flavor,  and  is  reck- 
oned by  epicures  to  be  far  superior  to  our  best 


^MILCH    GOATS,  ETC.  191 

venison ;  owing  probably  in  part  to  the  excel- 
lence of  the  grass  upon  which  they  feed. 
The  flesh  of  the  sheep  is  to  the  New  Mexi- 
can what  that  of  the  hog  is  to  the  people  of 
our  Western  States, — while  pork  is  but  sel- 
dom met  with  in  Northern  Mexico.  The 
sheep  there  are  also  remarkable  for  horny 
appendages,  which  frequently  branch  out  in 
double  or  triple  pairs,  giving  the  head  a 
very  whimsical  and  grotesque  appearance. 
I  have  seen  some  of  them  with  at  least  six 
separate  horns,  each  pointing  in  a  different 
direction. 

Although  the  raising  of  goats  has  not  been 
made  so  much  of  a  business  as  the  raising  of 
sheep,  the  former  are  nevertheless  to  be  found 
in  great  abundance.  Their  milk  is  nmch 
more  generally  used  than  that  of  tlie  cow, 
not  only  because  it  is  sweeter  and  richer,  but 
because  the  goat,  hke  the  burro,  sustains  itself 
upon  the  mere  rubbish  that  grows  in  the 
mountain  passes,  and  on  the  most  barren  hills, 
where  cows  could  not  exist  without  being 
regularly  fed.  The  flesh  of  the  goat  is  coars^, 
but  wholesome,  and  being  cheaper  than  mut- 
ton or  beef,  it  is  very  freely  used  by  the  poor. 
That  of  the  kid  is  hardly  surpassed  for  deli- 
cacy and  sweetness. 

With  regard  to  domestic  fowk,  it  may  be 
worthy  of  remark,  that  there  is  not  to  be 
found,  as  I  believe,  in  all  New  Mexico,  a  sin- 
gle species  (saving  half  a  dozen  turkeys  per- 
haps, and  a  few  pigeons),  except  the  common 
hen,  of  which,  however,  there  is  a  sufficient 


192  THE    GRIZZLY    BEAR. 

abundance.  The  goose,  the  duck,  the  pea- 
cock, etc.,  are  altogether  unknown. 

Of  wild  animals  there  is  not  so  great  a  va- 
riety as  in  the  southern  districts  of  the  repub- 
Uc,  where  they  are  found  in  such  abundance. 
The  black  and  grizzly  bear^  which  are  met  with 
in  the  mountains,  do  not  appear  to  possess 
the  great  degree  of  ferocity,  however,  for 
which  the  latter  especially  is  so  much  famed 
further  north.  It  is  true  they  sometimes  de- 
scend from  the  mountains  into  the  corn-fields, 
and  wonderful  stories  are  told  of  dreadful 
combats  between  them  and  the  labradores ; 
but  judging  from  a  httle  adventure  I  once 
witnessed,  with  an  old  female  of  the  grizzly 
species,  encomitered  by  a  party  of  ns  along  the 
borders  of  the  great  prairies,  I  am  not  dispos- 
ed to  consider  either  their  ferocity  or  their 
boldness  very  terrible. 

Our  company  had  just  halted  at  noon,  to 
take  refreshments,  when  we  perceived  a  group 
of  these  interesting  animals, — a  dam  with  a 
few  cubs  fully  as  large  as  common  wolves, — 
busily  scratching  among  the  high  grass  in  an 
adjacent  valley,  as  if  in  search  of  roots  or  in- 
sects. Some  of  our  party  immediately  started 
after  the  brutes,  in  hopes  of  getting  a  shot  at 
them,  in  which,  however,  they  were  disap- 
pointed. One  or  two  '  runners,'  who  had  fol- 
lowed on  horseback,  then  made  a  desperate 
charge  upon  the  enemy,  but  the  old  monster 
fled  to  the  thickets,  without  even  so  much  as 
turning  once  upon  her  pursuers,  although  one 
of  her  cubs  was  killed,  and   the  i;emainder 


A    BEAR    SCRAPE.  193 

were  scattered  in  different  directions,  during 
the  general  scamper. 

The  sequel  of  the  adventure  served  to  con- 
firm me  in  the  opinion  I  had  of  the  exagge- 
rated stories  in  regard  to  these  much  dreaded 
animals.  We  had  in  our  company  a  giant 
blacksmith  and  general  repairer  of  wagons, 
named  Campbell,  who  measured  full  six  feet 
eight  in  his  stockings,  and  was  besides,  ele- 
gantly proportioned.  Independently  of  his  uni- 
versal utility  as  '  Jack-of-all-trades,'  our  colossal 
friend  was  in  such  constant  requisition,  that  he 
might  well  have  given  origin  to  the  western 
phrase  of  one's  being  *  a  whole  team  ;'  for  if 
a  wagon  happened  to  be  in  the  mire,  he  was 
worth  more  than  the  whole  team  to  extract  it. 
He  was,  in  short,  the  most  appropriate  subject 
for  a  regular  grizzly-bear  scrape.  On  the  oc- 
casion I  speak  of,  Campbell  had  laid  himself 
down  under  the  shade  of  a  bush,  upon  the 
brink  of  a  precipice  about  ten  feet  high,  and 
was  taking  a  comfortable  snooze,  while  his 
companions  were  sporting  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. During  the  chase,  one  of  the  young 
bears,  which  had  been  scared  from  its  mother, 
was  perceived  loping  down  the  trail  towards 
our  camp,  apparently  heedless  of  the  com- 
pany. Several  of  us  seized  our  guns,  and  as 
it  sprang  across  the  ravine  through  a  break 
near  the  spot  where  Campbell  lay,  we  gave 
it  a  salute,  which  caused  it  to  tumble  back 
wounded  into  the  branch,  with  a  frightful  yell. 
Campbell  being  suddenly  roused  by  the  noise, 
started  up  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning,  and 

17 


194  WOLVES    AND    GAME. 

tumbled  over  the  precipice  upon  the  bear. 
"  AVhauh  !"  growled  master  bruin — "  Mur- 
der !"  screamed  the  giant — "  Chnch  it,  Camp- 
bell, or  you're  gone!"  exclaimed  his  com- 
rades ;  for  no  one  could  venture  to  shoot  for 
fear  of  kiUing  the  man.  The  latter,  however, 
had  no  notion  of  closing  clutches  with  his 
long-clawed  antagonist,  but  busied  himself  in 
vain  attempts  to  clamber  up  the  steep  bank; 
while  the  bear  rising  upon  his  hinder  legs, 
and  staring  a  moment  at  the  huge  frame  of 
the  blacksmith,  soon  made  up  his  mind  as  to 
the  expediency  of  *  turning  tail,'  and  finally 
succeeded  in  making  his  escape,  notwith- 
standing a  volley  of  shot  that  were  fired  after 
him. 

The  large  gray  wolf  of  the  Prairies  is  also 
to  be  found  in  great  abundance  in  Northern 
Mexico.  They  sometimes  make  dreadful 
havoc  among  the  cattle,  frequently  killing  and 
devouring  even  mules  and  horses ;  but  they 
never  extend  their  rapacity  so  far  as  to  attack 
human  beings,  unless  urged  by  starvation. 
There  are  other  animals  of  prey  about  the 
mountains,  among  which  the  panther  is  most 
conspicuous. 

Elk  and  deer  are  also  to  be  met  with,  but 
not  in  large  quantities.  Of  the  latter,  the 
species  known  as  the  hlack-tailed  deer  is  the 
most  remarkable.  It  differs  but  Uttle  from  the 
common  buck,  except  that  it  is  of  darker 
color  and  its  tail  is  bordered  with  black,  and 
that,  though  its  legs  are  shorter,  its  body  is 
larger.     The  carnero  cimarron  or  bighorn  of 


BIRDS,  REPTILES,  ETC.  195 

the  Rocky  Mountains — the  herrendo  or  an- 
telope and  the  tnza  or  prairie  dog  of  the 
plains — hares,  polecats,  and  other  animals  of 
lesser  importance,  may  also  be  considered  as 
denizens  of  these  regions. 

Of  wild  birds^  the  water  fowls  are  the  most 
numerous ;  the  ponds  and  rivers  being  lite- 
rally lined  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year  with 
myriads  of  geese,  ducks,  cranes,  etc.  In  some 
of  the  mountains,  wild  turkeys  are  very  nu- 
merous ;  but  partridges  and  quails  are  scarce. 
There  is  to  be  found  in  Chihuahua  and  other 
southern  districts  a  very  beautiful  bird  called 
paisano  (literally  *  countryman'),  which,  when 
domesticated,  performs  all  the  offices  of  a  cat 
in  ridding  the  dwelling-houses  of  mice  and 
other  vermin.  It  is  also  said  to  kill  and  de- 
vour the  rattlesnake ;  a  reptile,  however,  which 
seems  much  less  vicious  here  than  elsewhere. 
Scorpions,  tarantulas  and  centipedes  also,  al- 
though found  in  this  province,  are  almost  harm- 
less, and  very  little  dreaded  by  the  natives. 
Another  indigenous  reptile  is  the  horned-frog 
of  the  Prairies,  known  here  by  the  name  of  car 
maleon  (or  chameleon),  of  which  it  is  probably 
a  species,  as  its  color  has  been  observed  to 
vary  a  little  in  accordance  with  the  character 
of  the  soil  it  inhabits. 

The  honey-bee  would  appear  to  have  origi- 
nated exclusively  from  the  east,  as  its  march 
has  been  observed  westward,  but  none  have 
yet  reached  this  portion  of  the  Mexican  do- 
minion. According  to  ancient  historians,  dif- 
ferent species  were  indigenous  to  tlie  south  of 


196  THE    HONEY-BEE. 

the  republic  ;  but  in  the  north,  the  only  insect 
of  the  kind  more  resembles  the  bumble-bee 
than  that  of  our  hives ;  and  builds  in  rocks 
and  holes  in  the  ground,  in  some  parts  of  the 
mountains.  They  unite  in  but  small  num- 
bers (some  dozens  together),  and  seldom  make 
over  a  few  ounces  of  honey,  which  is  said, 
however,  to  be  of  agreeable  flavor. 

As  to  flies^  like  the  high  plains,  this  dry 
climate  is  but  little  infested — particularly  with 
the  more  noxious  kinds.  Fresh  meats  are 
preserved  and  dried  in  mid-summer  without 
difficulty,  as  there  are  very  few  blow-flies. 
Horse-flies  are  not  seen  except  sometimes  in 
the  mountains :  the  prairie-fly,  so  tormenting 
to  stock  with  us  in  the  West,  is  unknown. 


CHAPTER    X. 

Condition  of  the  Arts  and  Sciences  in  New  Mexico — Neglect 
of  Education — Primar}''  Schools — Geographical  Ignorance — 
Female  Accomplishments — Imported  Refinements — Peculiari- 
ties of  Language,  etc. — Condition  of  the  Public  Press — State 
of  Medical  Science — The  Mechanical  Arts — Carpentry  and 
Cabinet  Work — State  of  Architecture — Dwelling  Houses  and 
their  Peculiarities — Rustic  Furniture — Curiously  constructed 
Vehicles — Manufacture  of  Blankets — Other  Fabrics — Want 
of  Machinery. 

There  is  no  part  of  the  civilized  globe,  per- 
haps, where  the  Arts  have  been  so  much 
neglected,  and  the  progress  of  Science  so  suc- 
cessfully impeded  as  in  New  Mexico.  Read- 
ing and  writing  may  fairly  be  set  down  as 
the  highest  branches  of  education  that  are 
taught  in  the  schools ;  for  those  pedants  who 
occasionally  pretend  to  teach  arithmetic,  very 
seldom  understand  even  the  primary  rules  of 
the  science  of  numbers.  I  should  perhaps 
make  an  exception  in  favor  of  those  ecclesi- 
astics, who  have  acquired  their  education 
abroad;  and  who,  from  their  vocation,  are 
necessarily  obUged  to  possess  a  smattering  of 
Latin.  Yet  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that  the 
majority  of  this  privileged  class,  even,  are  la- 
mentably deficient  in  the   more   important 

17* 


19S  WANT    OF    SCHOOLS. 

branches  of  familiar  science.  I  have  been  . 
assured  by  a  highly  respectable  foreigner,  who 
has  long  resided  in  the  country,  that  the 
questions  were  once  deliberately  put  to  him 
by  a  curate — whether  Napoleon  and  Washing- 
ton were  not  one  and  the  same  person,  and 
whether  Europe  was  not  a  province  of  Spain ! 
From  the  earliest  time  down  to  the  seces- 
sion of  the  colonies,  it  was  always  the  poUcy 
of  the  Spanish  Government  as  well  as  of  the 
papal  hierarchy,  to  keep  every  avenue  of 
knowledge  closed  against  their  subjects  of 
the  New  World ;  lest  the  lights  of  civil  and 
rehgious  hberty  should  reach  them  from  their 
neighbors  of  the  North.  Although  a  system 
of  pabhc  schools  was  afterwards  adopted  by 
the  repubUc,  which,  if  persevered  in,  would 
no  doubt  have  contributed  to  the  dissemina- 
tion of  useful  knowledge,  yet  its  operations 
had  to  be  suspended  about  ten  years  ago,  for 
want  of  the  necessary  funds  to  carry  out  the  . 
original  project.  It  is  doubtful,  however, 
whether  the  habitual  neglect  and  utter  care- 
lessness of  the  people,  already  too  much  in- 
ured to  grope  their  way  in  darkness  and  in 
ignorance,  added  to  the  inefBciency  of  the 
teachers, would  not  eventually  have  neutralized 
all  the  good  that  such  an  institution  was  cal- 
culated to  effect.  The  only  schools  now  in 
existence,  are  of  the  lowest  primary  class,  sup- 
ported entirely  by  individual  patronage,  the 
liberal  extension  of  which,  may  be  inferred 
from  the  fact,  that  at  least  three-fourths  of  the 
present  population  can  neither  read  nor  write. 


FEMALE    EDUCATION.  199 

To  illustrate  the  utter  absence  of  geographi- 
cal information  among  the  humbler  classes, 
it  is  only  necessary  to  mention  that  I  have 
been  asked  by  persons,  who  have  enjoyed  a 
long  intercourse  with  Americans,  whether 
the  United  States  was  as  large  a  place  as  the 
town  of  Santa  Fe ! 

Female  education  has,  if  possible,  been 
more  universally  neglected  than  that  of  the 
other  sex ;  while  those  who  have  received 
any  instruction  at  all,  have  generally  been 
taught  in  private  families.  Indeed,  until  very 
lately,  to  be  able  to  read  and  write  on  the  part 
of  a  woman,  was  considered  an  indication  of 
very  extraordinary  talent ;  and  the  fair  dam- 
sel who  could  pen  a  billet-doux  to  her  lover, 
was  looked  upon  as  almost  a  prodigy.  There 
is,  however,  to  be  found  among  the  higher 
classes  a  considerable  sprinkling  of  that  su- 
perficial refinement  which  is  the  bane  of 
fashionable  society  everywhere,  and  which 
consists,  not  in  superiority  of  understand- 
ing, not  in  acquired  knowledge,  but  in  that 
peculiar  species  of  assumption,  which  has 
happily  been  styled  "the  flowing  garment 
with  which  Ignorance  decks  herself" 

Yet,  notwithstanding  this  dreadful  state  of 
ignorance  on  all  those  subjects  which  it  be- 
hooves man  to  be  acquainted  with,  it  is  truly 
astonishing  to  notice  the  correctness  with 
which  the  common  people  speak  their  mother 
tongue,  the  Spanish.  The  appUcation  of 
words  out  of  their  classical  sense  may  occa- 
sionally occur,  but  a  violation  of  the  simple 


200  MEXICAN    PRONUNCIATION. 

grammatical  rules  (which  is  so  common  dhiti^ 
the  illiterate  who  use  the  EngUsh  language), 
is  extremely  rare.  In  pronunciation,  the  only- 
material  difference  between  them  and  the 
CastiUan  race,  consists  in  the  adoption  of  cer- 
tain provincialisms,  which  can  hardly  be  rank- 
ed as  defects.  Thus,  instead  of  giving  c  before 
e  and  i,  and  z  in  all  cases,  the  CastiUan  lisp  of 
th  as  in  thin,  they  sound  both  like  s  in  sin  ; 
and  instead  of  pronouncing  //  as  the  Italian 
liquid  gl  in  seraglio^  they  sound  this  double 
letter  precisely  like  y  in  yes  ;  and  in  writing, 
frequently  confound  the  //  and  y  indiscrimi- 
nately together.  These  may  be  considered  as 
their  only  pecuUarities  of  pronunciation,  and 
they  prevail  through  most  sections  of  the  re- 
public. In  fact,  this  point  of  difference  is 
looked  upon  by  many  with  national  pride,  as 
distinguishing  their  language  from  that  of 
their  former  oppressors.  They  have  also  adopt- 
ed many  significant  Indian  words  from*  their 
aboriginal  predecessors  and  neighbors,  which 
serve  to  embellish  and  amplify  this  already 
beautiful  and  copious  language. 

In  nothing  is  the  deplorable  state  of  things 
already  noticed  made  more  clearly  manifest, 
than  in  the  absence  of  a  public  press.  There 
has  never  been  a  single  newspaper  or  periodi- 
cal of  any  kind  pubhshed  in  New  Mexico, 
except  in  the  year  1834,  when  a  Uttle  foolscap 
sheet  (entitled  El  Crepuscuh)  was  issued 
weekly,  for  about  a  month,  to  the  tune  of  fifty 
subscribers,  and  was  then  abandoned,  partial' 
ly  for  want  of  patronage  and  partially  because 


LACK    OF    NEWSPAPERS.  201 

the  editor  had  accomplished  his  object  of  pro- 
curing his  election  to  Congress.  Indeed, 
the  only  printing  press  in  the  country  is  a 
small  affair  which  was  brought  the  same  year 
across  the  prairies  from  the  United  States,  and 
is  now  employed  occasionally  in  printing  bil- 
lets, primers  and  Catholic  catechisms.  This 
literary  negligence  is  to  be  attributed,  not  more 
to  the  limited  number  of  reading  people,  than 
to  .those  injudicious  restrictions  upon  that 
freedom  of  the  press,  which  is  so  essential  to 
its  prosperity.  An  editor  attempting  to  arraign 
the  conduct  of  public  functionaries,  or  to  op- 
pose '  the  powers  that  be,'  is  sure  to  subject 
himself  to  pe];secution,  and  most  probably 
suspension,  a  tyrannical  course  of  proceeding 
which  has  checked  the  career  of  two  or  three 
papers  even  among  the  more  enlightened  in- 
habitants of  Chihuahua;  where  a  miserable 
organ  of  the  Government  is  still  occasionally 
issued  from  the  office  of  the  Imprenta  del 
Gobierno,  or  Government  Press.  No  wonder 
then  that  the  people  of  Northern  Mexico  are 
so  much  behind  their  neighbors  of  the  United 
States  in  intelligence,  and  that  the  pulse  of 
national  industry  and  liberty  beats  so  low  ! 

Medical  science  is  laboring  under  similar 
disadvantages ;  there  being  not  a  single  native 
physician  in  the  province^ ;  although  a  great 
multitude  of  singular  cures  are  daily  perform- 
ed with  indigenous  roots  and  herbs  that  grow 

*  Neither  is  there  a  professed  Jawyer  in  New  Mexico :  a  fact 
which  at  least  speaks  favorably  of  the  state  of  litigation  in  the 
country.. 


202  DOCTORS   AND    THEIR   BILLS. 

in  abundance  all  over  the  country.  But  lest 
a  knowledge  of  this  scarcity  of  doctors  should 
induce  some  of  the  Esculapian  faculty  to 
strike  for  Santa  Fe  in  quest  of  fortune,  I 
would  remark  that  the  country  affords  very 
poor  patronage.  Foreign  physicians  who 
have  visited  New  Mexico,  have  found  the  prac- 
tice quite  unprofitable  ;  not  more  for  the  want 
of  patients,  than  on  account  of  the  poverty 
of  the  people.  Nine-tenths  of  those  who"  are 
most  subject  to  disease,  are  generally  so  desti- 
tute of  means,  that  the  only  return  they  can 
make,  is,  ''Dios  se  lo  pague'^  (May  God  pay  you !) 
Even  the  more  affluent  classes  do  not  hesi- 
tate sometimes  to  hquidate  tkeir  bills  in  the 
same  currency.  A  French  doctor  of  Santa 
Fe,  who  had  been  favored  with  too  many  pay- 
ments of  this  description,  was  wont  to  rebuke 
their  '^  Dios  se  lopague'^  with  a  "  No^  senor,  su 
bolsa  me  lo  pagara^^ — No,  sir,  your  purse  shall 
pay  me  ! 

The  mechanical  arts  have  scarcely  risen 
above  the  condition  they  were  found  in  among 
the  aborigines.  Gold  and  silversmiths  are 
perhaps  better  skilled  in  their  respective  trades 
than  any  other  class  of  artisans  whatever ;  as 
the  abundance  of  precious  metals  in  former 
days,  and  the  ruling  passion  of  the  people  for 
ostentatious  show,  gave  a  very  early  stimulus 
to  the  exercise  of  this  peculiar  talent  Some 
mechanics  of  this  class  have  produced  such 
singular  specimens  of  ingenious  workman^ 
ship,  that  on  examining  them,  we  are  almost 
unwilling  to  believe  that  rude  art  could  ac- 


MECHANICAL    ARTS.  203 

complish  so  much.  Even  a  bridle-bit  or  a 
pair  of  spurs  it  would  no  doubt  puzzle  the 
*  cutest'  Yankee  to  fashion  after  a  Mexican 
model — such  as  I  have  seen  manufactured 
by  the  commonest  blacksmiths  of  the  country. 

In  carpentry  and  cabinet-work  the  me- 
chanic has  to  labor  to  great  disadvantage,  on 
account  of  a  want  of  tools  and  scarcity  of 
suitable  timber.  Their  boards  have  to  be 
hewed  out  With  the  axe — sawed  lumber  being 
absolutely  unknown  throughout  New  Mexico, 
except  what  is  occasionally  cut  by  foreigners. 
The  axe  commonly  used  for  sphtting  and 
hewing  is  formed  after  the  model  of  those 
clumsy  hatchets  known  as  'squaw-axes' 
among  Indian  traders.  Yet  this  is  not  unfre- 
quently  the  only  tool  of  the  worker  in  wood: 
a  cart  or  a  plough  is  often  manufactured  with- 
out even  an  auger,  a  cliise],  or  a  drawing- 
knife. 

In  architecture,  the  people  do  not  seem  to 
have  arrived  at  any  great  perfection,  but  rather 
to  have  conformed  themselves  to  the  clumsy 
style  which  prevailed  among  the  aborigines, 
than  to  waste  their  time  in  studying  modern 
masonry  and  the  use  of  lime.  The  materials 
generally  used  for  building  are  of  the  crudest 
possible  description ;  consisting  of  unburnt 
bricks,  about  eighteen  inches  long  by  nine 
wide  and  four  thick,  laid  in  mortar  of  mere 
clay  and  sand.  These  bricks  are  called  adobes^ 
and  every  edifice,  from  the  church  to  the  pa- 
lacio,  is  constructed  of  the  same  stuff  In 
fact,  I  should  remark,  perhaps,  that  though  all 


sot  MEXICAN    ARCHITECTURE. 

Southern  Mexico  is  celebrated  for  the  maglii- 
ficence  and  wealth  of  its  churches,  New  Mexi- 
co deserves  equal  fame  for  poverty-stricken 
and  shabby-looldng  houses  of  public  wor- 
ship. 

The  general  plan  of  the  Mexican  dwellings 
is  nearly  the  same  everywhere.  Whether 
from  motives  of  pride,  or  fear  of  the  savages, 
the  wealthier  classes  have  adopted  the  style 
of  Moorish  castles;  so  that  all  the  larger  build- 
ings have  more  the  appearance  of  so  many 
diminutive  fortifications,  than  of  private  fa- 
mily residences.  Let  me  add,  however,  that 
whatever  may  be  the  roughness  of  their  ex- 
terior, they  are  extremely  comfortable  inside. 
A  tier  of  rooms  on  each  side  of  a  square,  com- 
prising as  many  as  the  convenience  of  the  oc- 
cupant may  require,  encompass  an  open  patio 
or  court,  with  but  one  door  opening  into  the 
street, — a  huge  gate,  called  la  puerta  del  za- 
guan,  usually  large  enough  to  admit  the  family 
coach.  The  back  tier  is  generally  occupied 
with  the  cocina,  dispensa,  granero  (kitchen, 
provision-store,  and  granary),  and  other  offices 
of  the  same  kind.  Most  of  the  apartments, 
except  the  winter  rooms,  open  into  the  patio; 
but  the  latter  are  most  frequently  entered 
through  the  sala  or  hall,  which,  added  to  the 
thickness  of  their  walls  and  roofs,  renders 
them  dehghtfuUy  warm  during  the  cold  sea- 
son, while  they  are  perfectly  cool  and  agreeable 
in  summer.  In  fact,  hemmed  in  as  these 
apartments  are  with  nearly  three  feet  of  earth, 
they  may  be  said  to  possess  all  the  pleasant 


DWELLING-HOUSES.  205 

properties  of  cellars,  with  a  freer  circulation 
of  air,  and  nothing  of  the  dampness  which  is 
apt  to  pervade  those  subterranean  regions. 
The  roofs  of  the  houses  are  all  flat  azoteas 

€.  or  terraces,  being  formed  of  a  layer  of  earth 
two  or  three  feet  in  thickness,  and  supported 
by  stout  joists  or  horizontal  rafters.  These 
roofs,  when  well  packed,  turn  the  rain  off 
with  remarkable  effect,  and  render  the  houses 
nearly  fire-proofs  The  azotea  also  forms  a 
pleasant   promenade,  the  surrounding  walls 

^  rising  usually  so  high  as  to  serve  for  a  balus- 
trade, as  also  a  breast- work,  behind  which,  in 
times  of  trouble,  the  combatants  take  their 

'    station,  and  defend  the  premises. 

The  floors  are  all  constructed  of  beaten 
earth  'slicked  over'  with  soft  mortar,  and  co- 
vered generally  with  a  coarse  carpet  of  do- 
mestic manufacture.  A  plank  floor  would  be 
quite  a  curiosity  in  New  Mexico ;  nor  have  I 
met  with  one  even  in  Chihuahua,  although 
the  best  houses  in  that  city  are  floored  with 
brick  or  squares  of  hewn  stone.  The  interior 
of  each  apartment  is  roughly  plastered  over 
with  a  clay  mortar  unmixed  with  hme,  by  fe- 
males who  supply  the  place  of  trowels  with 
their  hands.     It  is  then  white  washed  with 

*  During  a  residence  of  nearly  nine  years  in  the  country,  I 
never  witnessed  but  one  fire,  and  that  was  in  the  mining  town  of 
Jesus  Maria.  There  a  roof  of  pine  clap-boards  is  usually  ex- 
tended over  the  azotea,  to  protect  it  against  the  mountain  torrents 
of  rain.  This  roof  was  consumed,  but  the  principal  damage  sus- 
tained, in  addition,  was  the  burning  of  a  huge  pile  of  corn  and 
Boine  bags  of  flour,  which  were  in  the  garret :  the  body  of  the 
building  remained  nearly  in  statu  (juo. 


80#  SUBTERRENE    DWELLINGS. 

calcined  yeso  or  gypsum,  a  deleterious  stuiSf, 
that  is  always  sure  to  engraft  its  affections  up- 
on the  clothing  of  those  who  come  in  contact 
with  it.  To  obviate  this,  the  parlors  and  fa- 
mily rooms  are  usually  lined  with  wall-papei 
or  calico,  to  the  height  of  five  or  six  feet.  The 
front  of  the  house  is  commonly  plastered  in  a 
similar  manner,  although  not  always  white- 
washed. In  the  suburbs  of  the  towns,  and 
particularly  in  the  villages  and  ranchos,  a  fan- 
testic  custom  prevails  of  painting  only  a  por- 
tion of  the  fronts  of  the  houses,  in  the  shape 
of  stripes,  which  imparts  to  the  landscape  a 
very  striking  and  picturesque  appearance.     J 

Wood  buildings  of  any  kind  or  shape  are 
titterly  unknown  in  the  north  of  Mexico, with 
the  exception  of  an  occasional  picket-hut  in 
some  of  the  ranchos  and  mining-places.  It 
will  readily  be  perceived,  then,  what  a  flat 
and  uncouth  appearance  the  towns  of  New 
Mexico  present,  with  houses  that  look  more 
like  so  many  collections  of  brick-kilns  pre- 
'  -pared  for  burning  than  human  abodes. 

The  houses  of  the  villages  and  ranchos  are 
rarely  so  spacious  as  those  of  the  capital,  yet 
their  construction  is  much  the  same.  Some 
very  singular  subterrene  dwellings  are  to  be 
found  in  a  few  places.  I  was  once  passing 
through  the  village  of  Casa  Colorada,  when 
I  observed  some  noisy  urchins  just  before  me, 
who  very  suddenly  and  mysteriously  disap- 
peared. Upon  resorting  to  the  spot,  I  per- 
ceived an  aperture  under  a  hillock,  which, 
albeit    considerably    larger,   was     not    very 


RUSTIC    SOFAS.  207 

unlike  the  habitations  of  the  little  prairie 
dogs. 

The  immense  expense  attending  the  pur- 
chase of  suitable  furniture  and  kitchen-ware, 
indeedj  the  frequent  impossibiUty  of  obtaining 
these  articles  at  any  price,  caused  the  early 
settlers  of  Northern  Mexico  to  resort  to  inven- 
tions of  necessity,  or  to  adopt  Indian  cus- 
toms altogether,  many  of  which  have  been 
found  so  comfortable  and  convenient,  that 
most  of  those  who  are  now  able  to  indulge  in 
luxuries,  feel  but  little  inclination  to  introduce 
any  change.  Even  the  few  pine-board  chairs 
and  settees  that  are  to  be  found  about  the 
houses  are  seldom  used ;  the  prevailing  fash- 
ion being  to  fold  mattrasses  against  the  walls, 
which,  being  covered  over  with  blankets,  are 
thus  converted  into  sofas.  Females,  indeed, 
most  usually  prefer  accommodating  them- 
selves, a  rindienne,  upon  a  mere  blanket 
spread  simply  upon  the  floor. 

Wagons  of  Mexican  manufacture  are  not 
to  be  found;  although  a  small  number  of 
American-built  vehicles,  of  those  introduced 
by  the  trading  caravans,  have  grown  into  use 
among  the  people.  Nothing  is  more  calcu- 
lated to  attract  the  curiosity  of  strangers  than 
the  unwieldy  carretas  or  carts  of  domestic 
construction,  the  massive  wheels  of  which 
are  generally  hewed  out  of  a  large  cotton- 
wood.  This,  however,  being  rarely  of  suffi- 
cient size  to  form  the  usual  diameter,  which 
^  is  about  five  feet,  an  additional  segment  or 
felloe  is  pinned  upon  each  edge,  when  the 


203  PRIMITIVE    CARTS. 

whole  is  fashioned  into  an  irregular  circle. 
A  crude  pine  or  cottonwood  pole  serves  for 
the  axle-tree,  upon  which  is  tied  a  rough  frame 
of  the  same  material  for  a  body.  In  the  con- 
struction of  these  can-etas  the  use  of  iron  is, 
for  the  most  part,  wholly  dispensed  with ;  in 
foct,  nothing  is  more  common  than  a  cart,  a 
plough,  and  even  a  mill,  without  a  particle  of 
iron  or  other  metal  about  them.  To  tliis  huge 
truckle  it  is  necessary  to  hitch  at  least  three 
or  four  yokes  of  oxen ;  for  even  a  team  of  six 
would  find  it  difficult  to  draw  the  load  of  a 
single  pair  with  an  ordinary  cart.  The  labor 
of  the  oxen  is  much  increased  by  the  Mexi- 
can mode  of  harnessing,  which  appears  pe- 
culiarly odd  to  a  Yankee.  A  rough  pole 
serves  for  a  yoke,  and,  with  the  middle  tied 
to  the  cart-tongue,  the  extremities  are  placed 
across  the  heads  of  the  oxen  behind  the  horns, 
to  which  they  are  firmly  lashed  with  a  stout  raw- 
hide thong.  Thus  the  head  is  maintained  in 
a  fixed  position,  and  they  pull,  or  rather  pusb 
by  the  force  of  the  neck,  which,  of  course,  is 
kept  continually  strained  upwards. 

Rough  and  uncoutli  as  these  carretas  al- 
ways are,  they  constitute  nevertheless  the 
'pleasure-carriages'  of  the  rancheros,  whose 
famiUes  are  conveyed  in  them  to  the  towns, 
whether  to  market,  or  to  Jiestas,  or  on  other 
joyful  occasions.  It  is  truly  amusing  to  see 
these  rude  vehicles  bouncing  along  upon  their 
irregularly  rounded  wheels,  like  a  limping 
bullock,  and  making  the   hills  and  valleys 


DOMESTIC    MANUFACTURES.  209 

around  vocal  with  the  echo  of  their  creaking 
and  frightful  sounds. 

The  New  Mexicans  are  celebrated  for  the 
manufacture  of  coarse  blankets,  which  is  an 
article  of  considerable  traffic  between  them 
and  the  southern  provinces,  as  also  with  the 
neighboring  Indians,  and  on  some  occasions 
with  the  United  States.  The  finer  articles 
are  curiously  woven  in  handsome  figures  of 
various  colors.  These  are  of  different  quali- 
ties, the  most  ordinary  being  valued  at  about 
two  dollars  apiece,  while  those  of  the  finest 
texture,  especially  their  imitations  of  the  Sa- 
rape  Navajo,  will  sell  for  twenty  dollars  or 
more.  There  have  also  been  made  in  New 
Mexico  a  few  imitations  of  the  Sarape  Sal- 
tillero, — the  blanket  of  Saltillo,  a  city  of  the 
south  celebrated  for  the  manufacture  of  the 
most  splendid  fancy  blankets,  singularly  figur- 
ed with  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow.  These 
are  often  sold  for  more  than  fifty  dollars  each. 
What  renders  the  weaving  of  the  fancy  blan- 
kets extremely  tedious,  is,  that  the  variegation 
of  colors  is  all  effected  with  the  shuttle,  the 
texture  in  other  respects  being  perfectly  plain, 
without  even  a  twill.  An  additional  value  is 
set  upon  the  fine  sarape  on  account  of  its  be- 
ing a  fashionable  substitute  for  a  cloak.  In- 
deed, the  inferior  sarape  is  the  only  over- 
dress used  by  the  peasantry  in  the  winter. 

Besides  blankets,  the  New  Mexicans  manu- 
facture a  kind  of  coarse  twilled  woollen  stuffj 
called  gerga,  which  is  checkered  with  black 
and  white,  and  is  used  for  carnets,  and  also 

18* 


2f6  "'Wani   of  machinery. 

by  the  peasantry  for  clothing,  which,  in  fact, 
with  some  other  similar  domestic  stuffs,  to- 
gether with  buckskin,  constituted  almost  the 
only  article  of  wear  they  were  possessed  of, 
till  the  trade  from  Missouri  furnished  them 
with  foreign  fabrics  at  more  reasonable  prices 
than  they  had  been  in  the  habit  of  paying  to 
the  traders  of  the  southern  provinces.  Their 
domestic  textures  are  nearly  all  of  wool,  there 
being  no  flax  or  hemp^  and  but  little  cotton 
spun.  The  manufacture  even  of  these  arti- 
cles is  greatly  embarrassed  for  want  of  good 
spinning  and  weaving  machinery.  Much  of 
the  spinning  is  done  with  the  huso  or  maki' 
cate  (the  whirligig  spindle),  which  is  kept 
whirling  in  a  bowl  with  the  fingers  while  the 
thread  is  drawn.  The  dexterity  with  which 
the  females  spin  with  this  simple  apparatus  is 
truly  astonishing. 

*  Hemp  is  unknown  in  this  province,  and  flax,  as  has  before 
been  remarked,  though  indigenous,  is  nowhere  cultivated.  ."  The 
court  of  Spain  (as  Clavigero  tells  us,  speaking  of  Michuacan, 
New  Mexico,  and  Quivira,  where  he  says  flax  was  to  be  found  in 
great  abundance),  informed  of  the  regions  adapted  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  this  plant,  sent  to  those  countries,  about  the  year  1778, 
twelve  families  from  the  valley  of  Granada,  for  the  purpose  of 
promoting  so  important  a  branch  of  agriculture."  The  enterprise 
seems  never  to  have  been  prosecuted,  however — at  least  in  Ne\v 
Mexico. 


•n.' 


CHAPTER    XI. 

Style  of  D\*^  <  in  New  Mexico — Riding-dress  of  the  Caballero— 

.  Horse  Tr»,ppings — The  Rebozo — Passion  for  Jewelry — Ap- 
parel of  the  Female  Peasantry — '  Wheeled  Tarantulas' — Gene- 
ral Appeavance  of  the  People — Tawny  Complexion — Singu- 
lar Mode  of  Painting  the  Human  Face — Striking  Traits  of 
Character — Alms-giving — Beggars  and  their  Tricks — Won- 

"  derfulCureof  Paralysis — Lack  of  Arms  and  Officers — Traits 
of  Boldness  among  the  Yeomanry — Politeness  and  Suavity  of 
the  Mexicans — Remarks  of   Mr.  Poinsett — Peculiarities  ob- 

4  served  in  epistolary  Intercourse — Salutations — La  Siesta. 

The  best  society  in  the  interior  of  New 
Mexico  is  fast  conforming  to  European  fash- 
ion, in  the  article  of  dress,  with  the  exception 
of  the  peculiar  riding  costume,  which  is  still 
worn  by  many  cahalleros.  This  generally  con- 
sists of  a  sombrero — a  peculiarly  shaped  low 
crowned  hat  with  wide  brim;  covered  with 
oil-cloth  and  surmounted  with  a  band  of  tinsel 
cord  nearly  an  inch  in  diameter :  a  chaqueta  or 
jacket  of  cloth  gaudily  embroidered  with  braid 
and  fancy  barrel-buttons :  a  curiously  shaped 
article  called  calzoneras^  intended  for  panta- 
loons, with  the  outer  part  of  the  legs  open 
from  hip  to  ankle — the  borders  set  with  tink- 
ling filigree  buttons,  and  the  whole  fantastical- 
ly trimmed  with  tinsel  lace  and  cords  of  the 


212  COSTUME    AND    TRAPPINGS    OF 

same  materials.  As  suspenders  do  not  form 
a  component  part  of  a  regular  Mexican  cos- 
tume, the  nether  garment  is  supported  by  a 
rich  sash  which  is  drawn  very  tightly  around 
the  body,  and  contributes  materially  to  ren- 
der the  whole  appearance  of  the  caballero 
extremely  picturesque.  Then  there  are  the 
botas  which  somewhat  resemble  the  leggins 
worn  by  the  bandits  of  Italy,  and  are  made  of 
embossed  leather,  embroidered  with  fancy 
silk  and  tinsel  thread  and  bound  around 
the  knee  with  curiously  tasselled  garters. 
The  sarape  saltillero  (a  fancy  blanket)  com- 
pletes the  picture.  This  peculiarly  useful  as 
well  as  ornamental  garment  is  commonly 
carried  danghng  carelessly  across  the  pom- 
mel of  the  saddle,  except  in  bad  weather, 
when  it  is  drawn  over  the  shoulders,  after 
the  manner  of  a  Spanish  cloak,  or  as  is 
more  frequently  the  case,  the  rider  puts  his 
head  through  a  slit  in  the  middle,  and  by  let- 
ting it  hang  loosely  from  the  neck,  his  whole 
person  is  thus  effectually  protected. 

The  steed  of  the  caballero  is  caparisoned 
in  the  same  pompous  manner,  the  whole  of 
the  saddle  trappings  weighing  sometimes  over 
a  hundred  pounds.  First  of  all  we  have  the 
high  pommel  of  the  saddle-tree  crowned  with 
silver,  and  the  ^hinder  tree'  garnished  with 
the  same,  and  a  quilted  cushion  adjusted  to 
the  seat.  The  coraza  is  a  cover  of  embossed 
leather  embroidered  with  fancy  silk  and  tinsel, 
with  ornaments  of  silver,  and  is  thrown  loose 
over  the  cushion  and  fuste  or  saddle-tree,  the 


THE    MEXICAN    HORSEMAN. 


213 


extremities  of  which  protrude  through  appro- 
priate apertures.  Then  comes  the  cola  depato, 
literally  *  duck's  tail'  (it  were  more  appropri- 
ately called  'peacock's  tail'),  a  sort  of  leathern 
housing,  also  gaudily  ornamented  to  correspond 
with  the  corazay  attached  to  the  hind-tree,  and 
covering  the  entire  haunches  of  the  animal. 
The  estribos  or  stirrups  are  usually  made  either 
of  bent  or  mortised  wood,  fancifully  carved, 
over  which  are  fastened  the  tapaderas  or  cov- 
erings of  leather  to  protect  the  toes.  For- 
merly the  stirrups  constituted  a  complete  slip- 
per, mortised  in  a  solid  block  of  wood,  which 
superseded  the  use  of  tapaderas.  But  one  of 
the  most  costly  articles  of  the  saddle-suit  is 
perhaps  the  bridle,  which  is  sometimes  of  en- 
tire silver,  or  otherwise  heavily  ornamented 
with  silver  buckles,  slides  and  stars.     To  this 


214  SADDLE    EQUIPAGE. 

is  appended  a  massive  bit,  sometimes  of  pure 
silver,  but  more  commonly  of  iron,  most  sin- 
gularly wrought  The  spurs  are  generally  of 
iron,  though  silver  spurs  are  very  frequent 
The  shanks  of  the  vaquero  spurs  are  three  to 
five  inches  long,  with  rowels  sometimes  six 
inches  in  diameter.  I  have  in  my  possession 
a  pair  of  these  measuring  over  ten  inches 
from  one  extremity  to  another,  with  rowels 
five  and  three-fourths  inches  in  diameter, 
weighing  two  pounds  and  eleven  ounces. 
Last,  not  least,  there  are  the  armas  de  pelo^  be- 
ing a  pair  of  shaggy  goat  skins  (richly  trimmed 
across  the  top  with  embroidered  leather),  dan- 
gling from  the  pommel  of  the  saddle  for  the 
purpose  of  being  drawn  over  the  legs  in  case 
of  rain,  or  as  a  protection  against  brush  and 
brambles.  The  corazas  of  travelling  saddles 
are  also  provided  with  several  pockets  called 
coginiUos — a  most  excellent  contrivance  for 
carrying  a  lunch  or  bottle,  or  anything  to 
which  convenient  access  may  be  desired. 

In  former  times  there  was  a  kind  of  harness 
of  leather  attached  to  the  saddle  behind,  cov- 
ering the  hinder  parts  of  the  horse  as  low  as 
mid-thighs,  with  its  lower  border  completely 
fringed  with  jinghng  iron  tags,  but  these  are 
now  seldom  met  with  in  the  North.  Even 
without  this  noisy  appendage,  however,  a  Mex- 
ican caballero  of  the  present  day,  with  full 
equestrian  rigging,  his  chnk  and  his  rattles, 
makes  altogether  a  very  remarkable  appear* 
ance.  ^ 

Though  the  foregoing  description  refers  par 


ladies'  fashions.  215 

ticularly  to  the  chivalrous  caballero  of  the 
South — the  rico  of  the  country,  yet  similar 
modes  of  costume  and  equipage,  but  of 
coarser  material,  are  used  by  the  lower  classes.^ 
Nor  are  they  restricted  among  these  to  the 
riding-dress,  but  are  very  generally  worn  as 
ordinary  apparel.  Common  velveteens,  fus- 
tians, blue  drillings  and  similar  stuffs,  are  very 
much  in  fashion  among  such  rancheros  and 
villageois  as  are  able  to  wear  anything  above 
the  ordinary  woollen  manufactures  of  the 
country.  Coarse  wool  hats,  or  of  palm-leaf 
{so'mhreros  de  petate),  all  of  low  crowns,  are 
the  kind  generally  worn  by  the  common  peo- 
ple. 

As  I  have  already  observed,  among  the  bet- 
ter classes  the  European  dress  is  now  fre- 
quently worn ;  although  they  are  generally  a 
year  or  two  behind  our  latest  fashions.  The 
ladies,  however,  never  wear  either  hat,  cap  or 
bonnet,  except  for  riding ;  but  in  lieu  of  it, 
especially  when  they  walk  abroad,  the  rebozo 
(or  scarf),  or  a  large  shawl,  is  drawn  over  the 
head.  The  rebozo  is  by  far  the  most  fashiona- 
ble :  it  is  seven  or  eight  feet  in  length  by 
nearly  a  yard  in  width,  and  is  made  of  divers 
stuffs — sUk,  linen  or  cotton,  and  usually  va- 
riegated and  figured  in  the  warp  by  symmetri- 
cally disposed  threads  waved  in  the  dying. 
It  is  certainly  a  beautiful  specimen  of  do- 
mestic manufacture.  The  finest  articles  are 
valued  at  fifty  tg  a  hundred  dollars  in  the 
North ;  but  the  ordinary  cotton  rebozo  ranges 
at  from  one  to  five  dollars,  and  is  generally 


216  RANCHERA    DRESS. 

worn  by  the  lower  classes.  A  Mexican  fe- 
male is  scarcely  ever  seen  without  her  rebozo 
or  shawl,  except  when  it  is  laid  aside  for  the 
^dance.  In-doors,  it  is  loosely  thrown  about 
her  person,  but  in  the  promenade  it  is  coquet- 
tishly  drawn  over  the  head,  and  one  end  of  it 
brought  round,  and  gracefully  hooked  over 
the  opposite  shoulder.  As  a  favorite  modern 
authoress  justly  remarks,  however,  in  speak- 
ing of  the  rebozo  and  the  sarape,  an  important 
objection  to  their  use,  in  this  unsettled  society, 
is  the  facility  they  afford  for  the  concealment 
of  the  person,  as  well  as  secret  weapons  of  the 
wearer.  Pistols,  knives,  and  even  swords  are 
carried  unsuspected  under  the  sarape,  while 
a  lady  fashionably  muffled  with  a  rebozo,  may 
pass  a  crowd  of  familiar  acquaintances  with-' 
out  being  recognized. 

The  ordinary  apparel  of  the  female  pea- 
santry and  the  rancheras^  is  the  enaguas  or  pet- 
ticoat of  home-made  flannel ;  or,  when  they 
are  able  to  procure  it,  of  coarse  blue  or  scar- 
let, cloth,  connected  to  a  wide  hst  of  some 
contrasting-colored  stuff,  bound  around  the 
waist  over  a  loose  white  chemise,  which  is 
the  only  covering  for  the  body,  except  the  re- 
bozo. Uncouth  as  this  costume  may  appear 
at  first,  it  constitutes  nevertheless  a  very  grace- 
ful sort  of  undress — in  which  capacity  it  is 
used  even  by  ladies  of  rank. 

The  New  Mexican  ladies  are  all  passionate- 
ly fond  of  jewelr}'' ;  and  they  may  commonly 
be  seen,  with  their  necks,  arms  and  fingers 
loaded  with  massive  appendages  of  a  valua- 


THE    SWARTHY   COMPLEXION.  217 

ble  description.  But  as  there  has  been  so 
much  imposition  with  regard  to  foreign  jew- 
elry, articles  of  native  manufacture,  some  of 
which  are  admirably  executed,  without  alloy 
or  counterfeit  are  generally  preferred. 

In  New  Mexico,  coches  de  paseo  of  any  kind 
are  very  rare ;  occasionally,  however,  one  of 
those  huge,  clumsy,  old-fashioned  vehicles  of 
Mexican  manufacture,  so  abundant  in  the 
southern  cities,  and  often  nick-named  '  wheel- 
ed tarantulas,'  by  strangers,  may  be  seen. 
Such  an  apparition  in  a  Yankee  city  would 
excite  as  much  curiosity  as  a  caravan  of  the 
rarest  animals.  The  coach  alon^  is  a  load  for 
two  mules,  therefore  the  vehicle  is  usually 
draAvn  by  four  and  sometimes  six,  and  inva- 
riably driven  by  postilUons. 
,ri  The  stature  of  both  sexes  in  New  Mexico 
is  commonly  below  medium :  but  they  are 
mostly  well  proportioned,  of  athletic  make, 
and  sound,  healthy  constitutions.  Their  corn- 
plexion  is  generally  dark ;  but  every  variety 
of  shade  is  found  among  them,  from  the 
lightest  European  tint  to  the  swarthiest  hue. 
Their  darkness  has  resulted  partly  from  their 
original  Moorish  blood,  but  more  from  inter- 
marriages with  the  aborigines.  An  occasional 
Indian,  and  sometimes  an  entire  village,  have 
abandoned  their  wonted  seclusion,  and  be- 
come identified  with  their  conquerors.  In 
the  North,  the  system  of  Indian  slavery  has 
contributed  still  more  to  the  same  result.  They 
buy  the  captive  children  of  both  sexes  of  the 
wild  tribes,  taken  prisoners  among  each  other, 

19 


218  TRAITS    OF    FEMALE    BEAUTY. 

or  by  the  Pueblos  in  their  petty  wars  with  the 
former — and  indeed  by  the  Mexicans  tliem- 
selves — who  are  generally  held  in  bondage  to 
the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  some,  from 
ignorance,  their  whole  lives.  Such  as  resume 
their  hberty,  intermarry  with  the  race  of  their 
masters,  becoming  Mexican  citizens,  often  un- 
distinguishable  from  many  of  the  aheady 
dark-hued  natives.  The  present  race  of  New 
Mexicans  has  thus  become  an  amalgam,  ave- 
raging about  equal  parts  of  the  European  and 
aboriginal  blood.  The  peasantry,  as  well 
from  a  more  general  intermixture  with  the 
Indian,  as  from  exposure,  are  the  darkest; 
yet  the  tawny  complexion  pervades  all  classes 
— the  rich  as  well  as  the  poor. 

The  females,  although  many  of  them  are 
about  as  broad-featured  as  the  veriest  Indian, 
not  unfrequently  possess  striking  traits  of 
beauty.  They  are  remarkable  for  small  feet 
and  handsome  figures,  notwithstanding  their 
profound  ignorance  of  the  '  refined  art'  of 
lacing.  The  belles  of  the  ranchos  and  vil- 
lages have  a  disgusting  habit  of  besmearing 
their  faces  with  the  crimson  juice  of  a  plant 
or  fruit  called  akgria,  which  is  not  unlike 
blood  ;  as  also  with  clay  and  starch.  This  is 
not  intended,  as  some  travellers  have  sup- 
posed, as  a  beautifying  appendage,  but  for  the 
purpose  of  protecting  the  skin  from  the  sun. 
A  country  beauty  will  often  remain  in  this 
filthy  condition  for  a  whole  fortnight,  in  order 
to  appear  to  advantage  at  some  favorite  feast 
or  ball ;  when,  by  washing  off*  the  paint,  the 


GENERAL    CHARACTER.  219 

cheeks  look  as  fresh  and  ruddy  as  the  natu- 
ral darkness  of  their  skin  will  permit. 

The  New  Mexicans  appear  to  have  inherit- 
ed much  of  the  cruelty  and  intolerance  of 
their  ancestors,  and  no  small  portion  of  their 
bigotry  and  fanaticism.  Being  of  a  highly 
imaginative  temperament  and  of  rather  ac- 
commodating moral  principles — cunning,  lo- 
quacious, quick  of  perception  and  sycophan- 
tic, their  conversation  frequently  exhibits  a 
degree  of  tact — a  false  glare  of  talent,  emi- 
nently calculated  to  mislead  and  impose. 
They  have  no  stability  except  in  artifice ;  no 
profnndity  except  for  intrigue:  qualities  for 
which  they  have  acquired  an  unenviable  ce- 
lebrity. Systematically  cringing  and  sub- 
servient while  out  of  power,  as  soon  as 
the  august  mantle  of  authority  falls  upon 
their  shoulders,  there  are  but  little  bounds  to 
their  arrogance  and  vindictiveness  of  spirit. 
"While  such  are  the  general  features  of  the 
character  of  the  Northern  Mexicans,  however, 
I  am  fain  to  beUeve  and  acknowledge,  that 
there  are  to  be  found  among  them  numerous 
instances  of  uncompromising  virtue,  good 
faith  and  religious  forbearance. 

But  taking  the  Northern  Mexicans  without 
distinction  of  class  or  degree,  there  is  scarcely 
a  race  of  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth  more 
alive  to  the  dictates  of  charity — that  is,  alms- 
giving ;  which  is  more  owing  perhaps  to  the 
force  of  religious  instruction  than  to  real  sym- 
pathy for  the  sufferings  of  the  indigent  and 
the  helpless.     The  law  making  no  provision 


220  THE   LIMOSNEROS. 

for  paupers,  there  is  no  country  perhaps  more 
infested  with  beggars,  especially  from  Chihua- 
hua south.  In  the  large  cities,  Saturday  is 
the  alms-giving  day  by  custom ;  and  on  such 
occasions  the  limosneros  (as  the  mendicant 
race  is  called),  may  be  seen  promenading  the 
streets  in  gangs  of  thirty  or  forty,  or  in  smaller 
numbers,  performing  genuflections  at  every 
nook  and  corner  of  the  town,  each  croaking 
aloud  his  favorite  set  of  orisons  and  inviting 
the  blessings  of  heaven  upon  every  man,  wo- 
man or  cliild,  who  may  have  been  so  fortu- 
nate as  to  propitiate  the  benison  by  casting  a 
few  clacos  into  his  outstretched  hand.*  In 
some  sections  of  the  country,  this  system  of 
begging  has  proved  so  successful  that  parents 
have  actually  been  known  to  maim  and  •  de- 
form their  children,  during  the  earhest  stages 
of  infancy,  in  order  to  fit  them  for  the  trade, 
and  thereby  secure  to  themselves  a  constant 
source  of  emolument  for  the  remainder  of 
their  lives.  Persons  affecting  disease  and  fre- 
quently malformation  for  the  purpose  of  excit- 
ing the  commiseration  of  the  wayfarer,  are 
also  extremely  numerous.  I  had  often  observ- 
ed in  Chihuahua  a  robust-looking  fellow,  who, 
to  all  appearance,  had  partially  lost  the  use  of 
his  lower  extremities,  shding  about  the  streets 
from  door  to  door  upon  a  sort  of  cushion,  ask- 
ing alms.  One  fine  day,  a  furious  bull,  pur- 
sued by  some  vaqueros,  came  plunging  down 
in  the  direction  where  he  sat,  moaning  and 
grie^dng  most  piteously ;  when,  forgetting  his 
physical  disabilities,  he  sprang  to  his  feet  with 


COWARDICE    AND    TEMERITY.  221 

the  agility  of  a  dancing  master,  and  inconti- 
nently betook  himself  to  his  heels. 

The  Northem  Mexicans  have  often  been 
branded  with  cowardice :  a  stigma  which 
may  well  be  allowed  to  re^npon  the  wealthier 
classes,  and  the  city-bred  caballeros,  from 
whose  ranks  are  selected  the  military  leaders 
who  decide  the  fate  of  battles.  But  the  ran- 
cheros,  or  as  they  might  be  still  more  appro- 
priately styled — the  yeomanry  of  the  country, 
inured  as  they  are  from  their  peculiar  mode 
of  life  to  every  kind  of  fatigue  and  danger, 
possess  a  much  higher  calibre  of  moral  cou- 
rage. -Their  want  of  firmness  in  the  field,  is 
partially  the  result  of  their  want  of  confidence 
in  their  commanders ;  while  the  inefficacy 
and  worthlessness  of  their  weapons  are  alone 
sufficient  to  inspire  even  a  vahant  heart  with 
dismal  forebodings.  It  is  true  that  most  of 
thci  regular  troops  are  provided  with  English 
muskets,  which,  by  the  way,  they  are  gene- 
rally too  ignorant  to  keep  in  order;  but  a 
great  portion  of  the  militia  are  obliged  to  use 
the  clumsy  old-fashioned  escopeta^  or  firelock 
of  the  sixteenth  century ;  while  others  have 
nothing  but  the  bow  and  arrow,  and  some- 
times the  lance,  which  is  in  fact  a  weapon 
very  much  in  use  throughout  the  country.  I 
have  seen  persons  of  the  lower  class  do  things, 
however,  which  would  really  seem  to  indicate 
a  superlative  degree  of  courage.  Some  of 
them  will  often  perform  journeys  alone 
through  wildernesses  teeming  with  murder- 
ous savages;  but  as  they  not  unfrequently 
19* 


222  SUAVITY    OF    MANNERS. 

embark  upon  these  perilous  jaunts  unarmed, 
it  is  evident  they  depend  greatly  upon  good 
luck  and  swiftness  of  limbs,  and  still  more 
upon  the  protection  of  their  favorite  saint, 
la  Virgen  de  GuaddHupe, 

The  Mexicans,  like  the  French,  are  remark- 
able for  their  politeness  and  suavity  of  man- 
ners. You  cannot  visit  a  friend  but  he  assures 
you  that,  "  Est  a  V,  en  su  casa,  ypuede  mandar^'* 
etc.  (You  are  in  your  own  house,  and  can 
command,  etc.),  or,  ''  Estoy  enteramente  a  su 
disposicion^^  (I  am  wholly  at  your  disposal), 
without,  however,  meaning  more  than  an  ex- 
pression of  ordinary  courtesy.  Nor  can  you 
speak  in  commendation  of  any  article,  let  its 
value  be  what  it  may,  but  the  pohte  owner 
immediately  replies,  "  Tomelo^  V.  SeJlor;  es 
suyo  (Take  it,  sir;  it  is  yours),  without  the 
slightest  intention  or  expectation  that  you 
should  take  him  at  his  word. — Mr.  Poinsett 
observes,  "  Remember,  when  you  take  leave 
of  a  Spanish  grandee,  to  bow  as  you  leave 
the  room,  at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  where  the 
host  accompanies  you  ;  and  after  descending 
the  first  flight,  turn  round  and  you  will  see 
him  expecting  a  third  salutation,  which  he 
returns  with  great  courtesy,  and  remains  un- 
til you  are  out  of  sight ;  so  that  as  you  wind 
down  the  stairs,  if  you  catch  a  glimpse  of 
him,  kiss  your  hand,  and  he  will 'think  you  a 
most  accomplished  cavalier."  Graphic  as 
this  short  sketch  is,  it  hardly  describes  the 
full  measure  of  Mexican  politeness;  for  in 
that  country,  when  the  visitor  reaches  the 


SALUTATIONS.  223 

Street,  another  tip  of  the  hat,  and  another  in- 
clination of  the  head,  will  be  expected  by 
the  attentive  host,  who  gently  waves,  with 
his  hand,  a  final  'a  dios'  from  a  window. 

In  epistolary  correspondence,  the  ratio  of 
respect  is  generally  indicated  by  the  width  of 
the  left  margin.  If  the  letter  is  addressed  to 
an  equal,  about  one-fourth  of  the  page  is  oc- 
cupied for  that  purpose  ;  but  when  extraordi- 
nary respect  is  intended  to  be  shown  to  a 
superior,  nearly  one-half  of  the  page  is  left  a 
blank.  There  are  other  marks  of  civility  and 
respect  pecuUar  to  the  country,  which  among 
us  would  be  accounted  absolute  servihty. 

In  their  salutations,  the  ancient  custom  of 
close  embrace,  not  only  between  individuals 
of  the  same  sex,  but  between  those  of  differ- 
ent sexes,  is  almost  universal.  It  is  quite  a 
luxury  to  meet  a  pretty  senorita  after  some 
absence.  The  parties  approach,  shake  hands 
in  a  cordial  manner,  and  without  loosening 
the  grasp,  the  left  arm  of  each  is  brought 
about  the  other's  waist ;  and  wliile  a  gentle 
embrace  brings  their  persons  closer  to  each 
other,  the  contact  of  the  cheeks  becomes  in- 
evitable— ^without  admitting  a  kiss,  however, 
which  would  be  held  as  decidedly  indelicate. 
In  short,  it  is  worth  while  absenting  oneself) 
for  the  gratification  of  a  first  meeting  v/ith 
the  prettier  of  one's  female  friends  upon  the 
return. 

Among  the  least  unpleasant  customs  of  tliis 
country  is  that  of  the  siesta  or  afternoon  nap ; 
A  species  of  indulgence  in  which  all  classes 


224.  '      THE    SIESTA. 

are  prone  to  share.  The  stores,  private  and 
pubhc  offices,  are,  by  common  consent,  gene- 
rally closed  at  one  o'clock  (that  being  the  usual 
dinner  hour),  and  not  reopened  till  three. 
During  that  interval  nearly  every  kind  of 
business  and  labor  is  suspended.  The  streets 
are  comparatively  deserted  ;  the  rich  and  the 
poor  retire  to  their  respective  couches,  and 
remain  wrapped  in  slumber,  or  *  thinking  o' 
nothing,'  till  the  loud  peal  of  the  three  o'clock 
bell  warns  them  to  resume  their  occupations. 


CHAPTER  XIL 

Government  of  New  Mexico — The  Administration  of  Justice — 
Judicial  Corrupiion — Prejudices  against  Americans — Partial- 
ity for  the  English — Anecdote  of  Governor  Armijo  and  a 
Trapper — Outrage  upon  an  American  Physician — Violence 
suffered  by  the  American  Consul  and  others — Arbitrary  Im- 
positions upon  Foreigners — Contrilmcion  de  Guerra — The  Al- 
caldes and  their  System — The  Fueros — Mode  of  punishing 
Delinquents  and  Criminals — Mexican  System  of  Slavery — 
Thieves  and  Thieveries — Outrage  upon  an  American  Mer- 
chant— Gambling  and  Gambling-houses — Game  of  Monte — 
Anecdote  of  a  Lady  of  Fashion — Chuza — Cockpits — Correr 
el  gallo — El  Coleo — Fandangoes — Cigar ritos. 

Prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  Sistema  Central 
in  the  Mexican  repubhc,  the  province  of  New 
Mexico  was  under  a  territorial  government. 
The  executive  was  called  Gefe  Politico  (poli- 
tical chief),  and  the  Diputacion  Provincial  very 
inefficiently  supphed  the  place  of  a  legisla- 
ture. Under  the  present  system,  however, 
New  Mexico  being  a  department^  the  names 
of  these  powers  have  been  changed,  but  their 
functions  remain  very  nearly  the  same.  The 
Gohernador  (governor)  ia  appointed  by  the  Pre- 
sident for  eight  years.  The  legislative  power 
is  nominally -vested  in  a  Junta  DepaHamental^ 
a  kind  of  state  council,  with  very  circum- 


226  JUDICIAL    CORRUPTIONS. 

scribed  powers,  somewhat  analogous  to,  and 
certainly  not  more  extensive  than, those  of  a 
board  of  aldermen  with  us.  But  even  this 
shadow  of  popular  representation  was  'pro- 
rogued' by  Gov.  Armijo  soon  after  his  acces- 
sion to  power  (five  or  six  years  ago),  and  has 
never  since  been  convened ;  so  that  its  func- 
tions have  been  arbitrarily  exercised  by  the 
governor  ever  since. 

The  administration  of  the  laws  in  Northern 
Mexico  constitutes  one  of  the  most  painful 
features  of  her  institutions.  Justice^  or  rather 
judgments,  are  a  common  article  of  traffic ; 
and  the  hapless  litigant  who  has  not  the  means 
to  soften  the  claws  of  the  alcalde  with  a  '  sil- 
ver unction,'  is  almost  sure  to  get  severely 
scratched  in  the  contest,  no  matter  what  may 
be  the  justice  of  his  cause,  or  the  uprightness 
of  his  character.  It  is  easy  to  perceive,  then, 
that  the  poor  and  the  humble  stand  no  chance 
in  a  judicial  contest  with  the  wealthy  and  con- 
sequential, whose  influence,  even  apart  from 
their  facihties  for  corrupting  the  court  and 
suborning  witnesses,  is  sufficient  to  neutral- 
ize any  amount  of  plebeian  testimony  that 
might  be  brought  against  them. 

The  evil  consequences  arising  from  mal- 
administration of  justice  in  New  Mexico  are 
most  severely  felt  by  foreigners,  against  whom 
a  strong  prejudice  prevails  throughout  the 
South.  Of- these,  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  are  by  far  the  most  constant  sufferers ; 
an  inevitable  result  of  that  sinister  feeling  with 
which  the  '  rival  repubhc'  views  the  advance- 


AMERICANS  AND  ENGLISHMEN.  227 

ment  and  superiority  of  her  more  industrious 
neighbors.  It  is  a  notorious  fact,  that  while 
the  Enghsh  are  universally  treated  with 
comparative  consideration  and  respect  the 
Americans  residing  in  the  southern  parts  of 
the  republic  are  frequently  taunted  with  the 
effeminacy  of  their  government  and  its  want 
of  decision.  So  openly  has  this  preference 
for  British  subjects  been  manifested,  and  so 
thoroughly  conscious  have  the  Americans  be- 
come of  the  humiliating  fact,  that  when  a 
mercantile  firm,  consisting  of  an  American 
and  an  Englishman,  has  occasion  to  present 
a  memorial  of  any  description,  or  to  sue  either 
for  an  act  of  favor  or  of  justice  from  the  na- 
tion, the  application  is  sure  to  be  made  in  the 
name  of  the  latter,  knowing  it  will  thus  be 
more  likely  to  command  proper  attention. 

Few  men,  perhaps,  have  done  more  to 
jeopard  the  interests  of  American  traders,  or 
to  bring  the  American  character  itself  into 
contempt,  than  Armijo,  the  present  arbitrary 
governor  of  New  Mexico.  I  am  happy  to  say, 
however,  that  in  the  midst  of  his  many  oppres- 
sions, he  was  once  at  least  obliged  to  '  knock 
under'  to  one  of  those  bold  and  daring  spirits 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  whom  obstacles 
rather  energize  than  subdue.  This  was  about 
the  year  1828,  during  Armijo's  previous  gov- 
ernorship. A  law  was  then  in  existence 
which  had  been  enacted  by  the  general  Con- 
gress prohibiting  foreigners  from  trapping  bea- 
ver in  the  Mexican  territory,  under  penalty  of 
confiscation,  etc. ;   but  as  there  were  no  na- 


228         SUBLETTE  AND  ABMIJO. 

tive  trappers  in  New  Mexico,  Gov.  Baca  and 
his  successor  (Narbona)  thought  it  expedient 
to  extend  Ucenses  to  foreigners,  in  the  name 
of  citizens,  upon  condition  of  their  taking 
a  certain  proportion  of  Mexicans  to  learn  the 
art  of  trapping.  In  pursuance  of  this  dispo- 
sition, Gov.  Narbona  extended  a  hcense  to 
one  Ewing  Young,  who  was  accompanied  by 
a  Mr.  Sublette,  brother  of  Capt  Wm.  Sub- 
lette, and  almost  equally  celebrated  for  his 
mountain  adventures.  Previous  to  the  re- 
turn of  this  party  from  their  trapping  expe- 
dition, Armijo  had  succeeded  Narbona  in 
office,  and  they  were  informed  that  it  was 
his  intention  to  seize  their  furs.  To  prevent 
this,  they  deposited  them  at  a  neighboring 
village,  where  they  were  afterwards  discover- 
ed, seized,  and  confiscated.  The  furs  being 
damp,  they  were  spread  out  in  the  sun  before 
the  Ghiwdia^  in  Santa  Fe,  when  Sublette, 
perceiving  two  packs  of  beaver  which  had 
been  his  own  property,  got  by  honest  labor, 
instantly  seized  them  and  carried  them  away 
before  the  eyes  of  the  whole  garrison,  and 
concealed  both  them  and  his  own  person  in 
a  house  opposite.  The  entire  military  force 
was  immediately  put  in  requisition,  and  a 
general  search  made  for  the  offender  and  his 
prize ;  but  in  vain :  indeed,  if  the  truth  must 
be  spoken,  the  troops  seemed  to  have  as  little 
desire  to  find  Sublette  as  the  latter  had  of  be- 
ing found;  for  his  character  was  too  well 
known  to  leave  any  room  for  hope  that  his 
capture  could  be  effected  without  a  great  deal 


ANOTHER    OPPRESSION.  229 

of  trouble.  In  the  meanwhile,  Armijo  raved, 
and  threatened  the  Americans  for  not  ferret- 
ing out  their  countryman  and  delivering  him 
over  to  justice.  Failing  to  produce  any  nu- 
pression  by  blustering,  however,  he  caused  a 
couple  of  cannons  to  be  pointed  at  the  house 
where  the  offender  was  supposed  to  be  conceal- 
ed, declaring  at  the  same  time  that  he  would 
batter  it  down ;  but  all  to  no  purpose.  Mr. 
Sublette  finally  conveyed  his  furs  in  safety  to 
the  frontier,  and  thence  to  the  United  States. 
The  following  anecdote  affords  another  il- 
lustration of  Armijo's  summary  mode  of  deal- 
ing with  Americans.  In  the  fall  of  1840,  a 
gross  outrage  was  committed  upon  a  physi- 
cian from  Massachusetts  (said  to  be  a  gentle- 
man of  unexceptionable  deportment),  who 
was  travelling  through  the  country  for  his 
health.  He  had  loaned  nine  hundred  dollars 
to  a  person  of  the  name  of  Tayon,  who  after- 
wards borrowed  the  same  amount  of  another 
foreigner  and  repaid  this  debt.  The  doctor 
then  left  for  the  South,  where  he  intended  to 
pass  the  winter,  being  afflicted  with  a  pulmo- 
nary disease.  But  the  individual  who  had 
lent  Tayon  the  money,  being  informed  that 
he  was  insolvent,  applied  to  Gov.  Armijo  for 
an  order  to  compel  the  doctor  to  return,  ex- 
pecting thereby  to  make  him  reimburse  the 
money.  The  order  overtook  him  at  the  village 
of  Algodones,  near  forty  miles  from  Santa  Fe, 
where  he  was  at  once  arrested  by  the  alcalde, 
and  detained  some  time,  ignorant  even  of 
the  offence  for  which  he  was  doing  penance, 

20 


230  GLARING    OUTRAGES. 

In  the  meantime,  the  American  Consul  at 
Santa  Fe,  having  been  informed  of  what  had 
taken  place,  procured  a  comiter-order  from 
the  governor  for  the  release  of  the  prisoner. 
When  the  alcalde  of  Algodones  received  this 
document,  he  determined  at  once  that  so  ex- 
traordinary an  act  of  justice  should  cost  the 
foreigner  some  trifle.  Accordingly,  another 
order  was  forged  on  the  spot,  commanding 
that  he  should  be  taken  to  the  capital — yet  a 
*  gentle  hint'  was  given,  that  his  liberty  might 
be  purchased  by  the  payment  of  two  hundred 
dollars.  Being  in  a  land  of  strangers,  among 
whom  he  had  but  little  hope  of  receiving  fair 
play,  the  doctor  resolved  to  pay  the  amount  de- 
manded, and  fly  to  Chihuahua, where  he  would 
at  least  be  safe  from  Armijo's  clutches.  Hav- 
ing been  informed,  however,  of  the  fraud  prac- 
tised by  the  alcalde,  before  he  had  proceeded 
far  on  his  journey,  he  returned  and  made  an 
attempt  to  bring  the  dehnquent  officer  to  jus- 
tice, but  altogether  without  success. 

But  perhaps  the  most  glaring  outrages  upon 
American  citizens  were  committed  in  1841, 
upon  the  occasion  of  the  capture  of  the  Tex- 
an Santa  Fe  Expedition.  In  Taos,  a  poor 
deaf  and  dumb  XJ.  S.  Creole  Frenchman  was 
beaten  to  death  in  open  day.  In  San  Miguel, 
the  alcalde,  at  the  head  of  a  mob,  entered  the 
store  of  a  Mr.  Rowland,  whom  he  robbed  of 
a  considerable  amount  of  merchandise.  At 
the  same  time,  the  greatest  excitement  raged 
in  Santa  Fe  against  Americans,  whose  lives 
appeared  in  imminent  danger;   and  a  most 


THE    AMERICAN    CONSUL.  231 

savage  attack  was  made  upon  our  excellent 
Consul,  Manuel  Alvarez,  Esq.,  who  had  al- 
ways taken  an  active  interest  in  the  welfare 
of  American  citizens. 

A  few  minutes  after  the  governor  had  de- 
parted for  San  Miguel,  to  encounter  the  Tex- 
ans,  a  fellow  named  Martin,  his  nephew  and 
confidential  agent,  aided  by  a  band  of  ferocious 
sans  culottes^  and  armed  with  a  large  knife,  se- 
cretly entered  the  house  of  the  Consul,  who 
perceived  him  in  time,  however,  to  avert  the 
blow ;  yet  he  received  a  severe  wound  in  the 
face  during  the  scuffle  that  ensued :  the  rab- 
ble running  in  at  the  same  time,  and  vocife* 
rating,  "  Sdquenlo  afuera  !  mdtenlo  /" — Drag 
him  out !  kill  him  !  Mr.  Alvarez  doubtless 
owed  his  preservation  partially  to  the  conster- 
nation with  which  the  failure  of  their  clandes- , 
tine  attempt  at  his  life  inspired  the  cowardly 
ruffians.  Instead  of  being  punished  for  this 
diabolical  act,  the  principal  assassin,  on  the 
contrary,  was  soon  after  promoted  in  the  army. 

The  outrage  did  not  end  here,  however; 
for  on  the  Consul's  demanding  his  passport 
for  the  United  States,  it  was  refused  for  nearly 
a  month ;  thus  detaining  him  until  the  cold ' 
season  had  so  far  advanced,  that,  of  his  party 
(about  fifteen  in  number),  two  perished  from 
the  cold ;  and  not  one  arrived  without  being 
more  or  less  frost-bitten — some  very  severely 
— besides  suflfering  a  loss  of  about  fifty  ani- 
mals from  the  same  cause. 

Although  these  and  other  daring  outrages 
have  been  duly  represented  to  our  Govern- 


232  CONTRIBUCION    DE    GUERRA. 

ment,  it  does  not  appear  that  any  measures 
of  redress  have  yet  been  taken. 

With  a  view  of  oppressing  our  merchants, 
Gov.  Armijo  liad,  as  early  as  1839,  issued  a  de- 
cree exempting  all  the  natives  from  the  tax 
imposed  on  store-houses,  shops,  etc.,  throw- 
ing the  whole  burden  of  impost  upon  foreign- 
ers and  naturalized  citizens;  a  measure  clearly 
and  unequivocally  at  Aariance  with  the  trea- 
ties and  stipulations  entered  into  between  the 
ITnited  States  and  Mexico.  A  protest  was 
presented  without  effect ;  when  our  Consul, 
finding  all  remonstrances  useless,  forwarded 
a  memorial  to  the  American  Minister  at 
Mexico,  who,  although  the  vital  interests  of 
American  citizens  were  at  stake,  deemed  the 
affair  of  too  jittle  importance,  perhaps,  and 
therefore  appears  to  have  paid  no  attention  to 
it.  But  this  system  of  levying  excessive  taxes 
upon  foreigners,  is  by  no  means  an  original 
invention  of  Gov.  Armijo.  In  1835,  the  gov- 
ernment of  Chihuahua  having  levied  a  con- 
'  trihucion  de  guerra  for  raising  means  to  make 
war  upon  the  savages,  who  were  laying  waste 
the  surrounding  country,  foreign  merchants, 
with  an  equal  disregard  for  their  rights  and 
the  obligations  of  treaties,  were  taxed  twenty- 
five  dollars  each  per  month ;  while  the  native 
merchants,  many  of  whom  possessed  large 
haciendas,  with  thousands  of  stock,  for  the 
especial  protection  of  which  these  taxes  were 
chiefly  imposed,  paid  only  from  five  to  ten 
dollars  each.  Remonstrances  were  presented 
to  the  governor,  but  in  vain.     In  liis  official 


THE  alcalde's  couut.  233 

reply,  that  functionary  declared,  ''qm  el  go- 
bierno  cree  arreglado  el  reparto  de  sus  respectivas 
coiUribuciones'^ — the  government  believes  your 
respective  contributions  in  accordance  with  ^ 
justice — which  concluded  the  correspond-  ^ 
ence,  and  the  Americans  paid  their  twenty- 
five  dollars  per  month. 

The  only  tribunals  of  ^justice'  in  New 
Mexico  are  those  of  the  ordinary  alcaldes  or 
justices  of  the  peace ;  and  an  appeal  from 
them  is  carried  to  the  Supreme  Court  in  the 
department  of  Chihuahua.  The  course  of 
htigation  is  exceedingly  simple  an<3  summa- 
ry. The  plaintiff  makes  his  verbal  complaint 
or  demand  before  the  alcalde,  who  orders  him 
to  summon  the  defendant,  which  is  done  by 
simply  saying,  ''  Le  llama  el  alcalde^^  (the  al- 
calde calls  you)  into  his  presence,  the  appli- 
cant acting  thus  in  the  double  capacity  of 
constable  and  complainant.  The  summons 
is  always  verbal,  and  rarely  for  a  future  time 
— ^instant  attendance  being  expected.  Should 
the  defendant  refuse  to  obey  this  simple  man- 
date (which,  by  the  bye,  is  a  very  rare  occur- 
rence), the  alcalde  sends  his  haston  de  justicia, 
his  staff  of  justice,  an  ordinary  walking-cane, 
distinguished  only  by  a  peculiar  black  silk 
tassel.  This  never  fails  to  enforce  compU* 
ance,  for  a  refusal  to  attend  after  being  shown 
the  staff,  would  be  construed  into  a  contempt 
of  court,  and  punished  accordingly.  The 
witnesses  are  sometimes  sworn  upon  a  cross 
cut  on  the  bastoji  de  justicia^  or  more  fre- 
quently, perhaps,  upon  a  cross  formed  with 

20* 


234  FUERO  PRIVILEGES. 

the  finger  and  thumb.  Generally  speak- 
ing,  however,  the  process  of  examination  is 
gone  through  without  a  single  oath  being  ad- 
ministered ;  and  in  the  absence  of  witnesses, 
the  alcalde  often  proceeds  to  sentence  upon 
the  simple  statements  of  the  contending  par- 
ties. By  a  species  of  mutual  agreement,  the 
issue  of  a  suit  is  sometimes  referred  to  hom- 
hres  huenos  (arbitrators),  which  is  the  nearest 
approximation  that  is  made  to  trial  by  jury. 
In  judicial  proceedings,  however,  but  little,  or 
rather  no  attention  is  paid  to  any  code  of  laws*; 
in  fact,  there  is  scarcely  one  alcalde  in  a  dozen 
who  knows  what  a  law  is,  or  who  ever  saw  a 
law-book.  Their  decisions,  when  not  influ- 
enced by  corrupt  agencies,  are  controlled  by 
the  prevailing  customs  of  the  country. 

In  the  administration  of  justice,  there  are 
three  distinct  and  privileged  jurisdictions, 
known  as  fueros :  the  ecksidstico,  which  pro- 
vides that  no  member  of  the  clergy,  at  least 
of  the  rank  of  curate  and  upwards,  shall  ever 
be  arraigned  before  a  civil  tribunal,  but  shall 
be  tried  by  their  superiors  in  the  order ;  the 
militar,  which  makes  a  similar  provision  in 
favor  not  only  of  commissioned  officers,  but 
of  every  common  soldier  from  the  ranks ;  and 
the  civil  or  ordinary  courts,  for  all  cases  in 
which  the  defendants  are  laymen.  These 
fueros  have  hitherto  maintained  the  ecclesi- 
astical and  mihtary  classes  in  perfect  independ- 
ence of  the  civil  authorities.  The  civil,  in 
fact,  remains  in  some  degree  subordinate  to 
the  other  two  fuerQs\  for  it  can,  und^r  no  cir- 


SENTENCE    AND   PUNISHMENT.  236 

cumstances,  have  any  jurisdiction  whatever 
over  them ;  while  the  lay  plaintiff,  in  the  pri- 
vileged tribunals  of  these,  may,  if  unsuccessful, 
have  judgment  entered  up  against  him:  a 
consequence  that  can  never  follow  the  suits 
of  the  ecclesiastical  or  military  orders  before 
the  civil  tribunals.  The  judgments  of  the 
latter,  in  such  cases,  would  be  void.  It  is  no 
wonder,  then,  that  the  cause  of  freedom  in 
Mexico  has  made  so  httle  progress. 

Imprisonment  is  almost  the  only  sort  of 
punishment  resorted  to  in  the  North.  For 
debt,  petit  larceny,  highway  robbery,  and 
murder,  the  usual  sentence  is  "  A  la  carceF  (to 
jail),  where  a  person  is  hkely  to  remain  about 
as  long  for  inability  to  pay  dos  reales,  as  for 
the  worst  of  crimes  :  always  provided  he  has 
not  the  means  to  pacify  the  offended  majesty 
of  the  law.  I  never  heard  of  but  one  execu- 
tion for  murder  in  New  Mexico,  since  the  de- 
claration of  independence.  The  most  despe- 
rate and  blood-stained  criminals  escape  with 
impunity,  after  a  few  weeks  of  incarceration, 
unless  the  prosecutor  happens  to  be  a  person 
of  great  influence;  in  which  case, the  prisoner 
is  detained  in  the  calahozo  at  will,  even  when 
the  offence  committed  has  been  of  a  trivial 
character.  Notwithstanding  this  laxity  in  the 
execution  of  the  laws,  there  are  few  murders 
of  any  kind  commited. 

In  case  of  debt,  as  before  remarked,  the  de- 
linquent is  sent  to  jail — ■'provided  the  creditor 
will  not  accept  his  services.  If  he  will,  how- 
ever,  the   debtor  becomes  nolens  volens  the 


236  SYSTEM    OF    SLAVERY. 

servant  of  the  creditor  till  the  debt  is  satisfied ; 
and,  serving,  as  he  does,  at  very  reduced  wa- 
ges, his  expenses  for  clothing,  and  other  ne- 
cessaries, but  too  often  retain  him  in  perpetual 
servitude.  This  system  does  not  operate,  how- 
ever, upon  the  higher  classes,  yet  it  acts  with 
terrible  severity  upon  the  unfortunate  poor, 
v^hose  condition  is  but  little  better,  if  not 
worse  indeed  than  that  of  the  slaves  of  the 
South.  They  labor  for  fixed  wages,  it  is  true  ; 
but  all  they  can  earn  is  hardly  sufficient  to 
keep  them  in  the  coarsest  clothing  and  pay 
their  contingent  expenses.  Men's  wages  range 
from  two  to  five  dollars  a  month,  and  those  of 
women  from  fifty  cents  to  two  dollars ;  in 
payment  of  which,  they  rarely  receive  any 
money;  but  instead  thereof,  articles  of  ap- 
parel and  other  necessaries  at  the  most  ex- 
orbitant prices.  The  consequence  is  that  the 
serf  ant  soon  accumulates  a  debt  which  he  is 
unable  to  pay — his  wages  being  often  en- 
gaged for  a  year  or  two  in  advance.  Now, 
according  to  the  usages,  if  not  the  laws  of  the 
country,  he  is  bound  to  serve  his  master  until  all 
arrearages  are  liquidated  ;  and  is  only  enabled 
to  effect  an  exchange  of  masters,  by  engaging 
another  to  pay  his  debt,  to  whom  he  becomes 
in  like  manner  bound. 

As  I  have  already  remarked,  capital  crimes 
and  highway  robberies  are  of  comparatively 
rare  occurrence  in  the  North,  but  in  smaller 
delinquencies,  such  as  pilfering  and  petty 
rogueries  of  every  shade  and  description,  the 
common  classes  can  very  successfully  com- 


TRICKS    OF   ROBBERS.  237 

pete  with  any  other  people.  Nothing  indeed 
can  be  left  exposed  or  unguarded  without 
great  danger  of  its  being  immediately  stolen. 
Ko  husbandman  would  think  of  leaving  his 
axe  or  his  hoe,  or  anything  else  of  the  sUght- 
est  value,  lying  out  over  night.  Empty  wa- 
gons are  often  pillaged  of  every  movable  piece 
of  iron,  and  even  the  wheels  have  been  car- 
ried away.  Pieces  of  merchandise  are  fre- 
quently purloined  from  the  shelves,  when 
they  happen  to  be  in  reach.  In  Chihuahua, 
goods  have  actually  been  snatched  from  the 
counter  while  being  exposed  to  the  inspection 
of  a  pretended  purchaser.  I  once  had  a  trick 
of  this  kind  played  upon  me  by  a  couple  of 
boys,  who  made  their  escape  through  a  crowd 
of  spectators  with  their  booty  exposed.  In 
vain  I  cried  "  Agafren  a  los  ladrones  r  (catch 
the  thieves !)  not  a  single  individual  moved 
to  apprehend  them.  I  then  proffered  the 
goods  stolen,  to  any  person  who  might  suc- 
ceed in  bringing  the  rogues  to  me,  but  to  no 
purpose.  In  fact  there  seems  to  exist  a  great 
deal  of  repugnance,  even  among  the  better 
classes,  to  apprehending  thieves;  as  if  the 
mere  act  of  informing  against  them  was  con- 
sidered dishonorable.  I  heard  a  very  respecta- 
ble caballero  once  remark  that  he  had  seen  a 
man  purloin  certain  articles  of  merchandise, 
but  he  could  not  be  induced  to  give  up  his 
name ;  observing,  "  O,  I  can't  think  of  expos- 
ing the  poor  fellow !'' 

The  impunity  with  which  delinquencies  of 
this  description  are  every  day  committed  is* 


238  A    PARTIAL   JUDGE. 

perhaps  in  some  degree,  the  consequence  of 
those  severe  enactments,  such  as  the  Leyes  de  las 
Indias  (the  laws  of  the  Indies),  which  rendered 
many  thefts  and  robberies  punishable  with 
death.  The  magistracy  contracted  the  habit 
of  frequently  winking  at  crime,  rather  than ' 
resort  to  the  barbarous  expedients  prescribed 
by  the  letter  of  the  law.  The  utmost  that  can 
be  gained  now  by  public  prosecution,  is  the 
recovery  of  the  stolen  property,  if  that  be  any- 
where to  be  found,  and  occasionally  a  short 
period  of  imprisonment  for  the  culprit.  This 
is  more  particularly  the  case  when  the  prose- 
cutor happens  to  be  a  foreigner ;  while  on  the 
other  hand,  if  he  be  the  party  accused,  he  is 
likely  to  be  subjected  to  very  severe  treat- 
ment. A  remarkable  circumstance  of  this 
kind  occurred  in  Chihuahua  in  the  year  1835. 
One  of  our  most  respectable  Missouri  mer- 
chants had  bought  a  mule  of  a  stranger,  but 
the  animal  was  soon  after  claimed  by  a  third 
person,  who  proved  that  it  had  been  stolen 
'  from  liim.  The  Missourian  would  have  been 
perfectly  satisfied  to  lose  the  mule,  and  end 
the  matter  there  ;  but  to  the  surprise  of  all,  he 
was  directly  summoned  before  an  alcalde, 
and  forthwith  sentenced  to  jail :  the  partial 
judge  having  labored  to  fix  the  theft  upon  the 
innocent  purchaser,  while  the  real  culprit,  who 
was  a  native,  was  permitted  to  go  at  large. 

The  love  of  gambling  also  deserves  to  be 
noticed  as  a  distinguishing  propensity  of  these 
people.  Indeed  it  may  well  be  said,  without 
any  undue  stretch  of  imagination,  that  shop- 


THE    MONTE    BANK.  239 

lifting,  pocket-picking,  and  other  elegant  pas- 
times of  the*same  kindred,  are  the  legitimate 
offspring,  especially  among  the  lower  classes, 
of  that  passion  for  gaming,  which  in  Mexico 
more  than  anywhere  else — to  use  Madame 
Calderon's  language — "is  impregnated  with 
the  constitution — in  man,  woman,  and  child." 
It  prevails  in  the  lowly  hut,  as  well  as  in  the 
ghttering  saloon ;  nor  is  the  sanctity  of  the 
gown  nor  the  dignity  of  station  sufficient 
proof  against  the  fascinations  of  this  exciting 
vice.  No  one  considers  it  a  degradation  to 
be  seen  frequenting  a  monte  bank :  the  gov- 
ernor himself  and  his  lady,  the  grave  magis- 
trate and  the  priestly  dignity,  the  gay  caballero 
and  the  titled  seiiora  may  all  be  seen  staking 
their  doubloons  upon  the  turn  of  a  card ; 
while  the  humbler  ranchero,  the  hired  domes- 
tic and  the  ragged  pauper,  all  press  with  equal 
avidity  to  test  their  fortune  at  the  same  shrine. 
There  are  other  games  at  cards  practised 
among  these  people,  depending  more  upon 
skill ;  but  that  of  el  monte^  being  one  exclu- 
sively of  chance,  seems  to  possess  an  all-ab- 
sorbing attraction,  difficult  to  be  conceived  by 
the  uninitiated  spectator. 

The  following  will  not  only  serve  to  show  the 
light  in  which  gambling  is  held  by  all  classes 
of  society,  but  to  illustrate  the  purifying  ef- 
fects of  wealth  upon  character.  Some  twelve 
or  fifteen  years  ago  there  lived  (or  rather 
roamed)  in  Taos  a  certain  female  of  very 
loose  habits,  known  as  La  Tides,  Finding  it 
difficult  to  obtain  the  means  of  hving  in  that 


240  GAME    OF    CHUZA. 

district,  she  finally  extended  her  wanderings 
to  the  capital.  She  there  became  a  constant 
attendant  on  one  of  those  pandemoniums 
where  the  favorite  game  of  monte  was  dealt 
pro  bono  publico.  Fortune,  at  first,  did  not 
seem  inclined  to  smile  upon  her  efforts,  and 
for  some  years  she  spent  her  days  in  lowliness 
and  misery.  At  last  her  luck  turned,  as 
gamblers  would  say,  and  on  one  occasion  she 
left  the  bank  with  a  spoil  of  several  hundred 
dollars  !  This  enabled  her  to  open  a  bank  of 
her  own,  and  being  favored  by  a  continuous 
run  of  good  fortune,  she  gradually  rose  higher 
and  higher  in  the  scale  of  affluence,  until  she 
found  herself  in  possession  of  a  very  hand- 
some fortune.  In  1843,  she  sent  to  the  United 
States  some  ten  thousand  dollars  to  be  invest- 
ed in  goods.  She  still  continues  her  favorite 
*  amusement,'  being  now  considered  the  most 
expert  *  monte  dealer'  in  all  Santa  Fe.  She 
is  openly  received  in  the  first  circles  of  socie- 
ty :  I  doubt,  in  truth,  whether  there  is  to 
be  found  in  the  city  a  lady  of  more  fashiona- 
ble reputation  than  this  same  Tules,  now 
known  as  Seiiora  Dofia  Gertrudes  Barcelo. 

Among  the  multitude  of  games  which  seem 
to  constitute  the  real  business  of  fife  in  New 
Mexico,  that  of  chuza  evidently  presents  the 
most  attractions  to  ladies ;  and  they  generally 
lay  very  heavy  wagers  upon  the  result.  It  is 
played  with  little  balls,  and  bears  some  faint 
resemblance  to  what  is  called  roulette.  Bull- 
baiting  and  cock-fighting,  about  which  so 
much  has  been  said  by  every  traveller  in  Mex- 


CORRER    EL  GALLO.  241 

ico,  are  also  very  popular  '  amusei:  .ents'  in  the 
North,  and  generally  lead  to  the  same  excesses 
and  the  same  results  as  gaming.  The  cock- 
pit rarely  fails  to  be  crowded  on  Sundays  and 
other  feast  days;  on  which  occasions  the 
church,  the  ball-room,  the  gambling-house,  and 
the  cock-pit  look  hke  so  many  opposition  estab- 
lishments ;  for  nothing  is  more  common  than 
to  see  people  going  from  one  place  to  another 
by  alternate  fits,  just  as  devotional  feehng  or 
love  of  pleasure  happens  to  prompt  them. 

One  of  the  most  attractive  sports  of  the 
rancheros  and  the  peasantry,  and  that  which, 
more  than  any  other,  calls  for  the  exercise  of 
skill  and  dexterity,  is  that  called  correr  el  gallOy 
practised  generally  on  St.  John's  day.  A  com- 
mon cock  or  hen  is  tied  by  the  feet  to  some 
swinging  limb  of  a  tree,  so  as  to  be  barely 
within  the  reach  of  a  man  on  horseback :  or 
the  fowl  is  buried  ahve  in  a  small  pit  in  the 
ground  leaving  only  the  head  above  the  sur- 
face. In  either  case, -the  racers,  passing  at 
full  speed,  grapple  the  head  of  the  fowl, 
which  being  well  greased,  generally  slips  out 
of  their  fingers.  As  soon  as  some  one,  more 
dextrous  than  the  rest,  has  succeeded  in  tear- 
ing it  loose,  he  claps  spurs  to  his  steed,  and 
endeavors  to  escape  with  the  prize.  He  is 
hotly  pursued,  however,  by  the  whole  sport- 
ing crew,  and  the  first  who  overtakes  him 
tries  to  get  possession  of  the  fowl,  when  a 
strife  ensues,  during  which  the  poor  chicken 
is  torn  into  atoms.  Should  the  holder  of  the 
trophy  be  able  to  outstrip  his  pursuers,  he  car- 

21 


242  COLEO    AND    FANDANGOS. 

ries  it  to  a  crowd  of  fair  spectators  and  pre- 
sents it  to  his  mistress,  who  takes  it  to  the 
fandango  which  usually  follows,  as  a  testi- 
mony of  the  prowess  of  her  lover. 

Among  the  vaqueros,  and  even  among  per- 
sons of  distinction,  el  coleo  (tailing)  is  a  much 
nobler  exercise  than  the  preceding,  and  is  also 
generally  reserved  for  days  of  festivity.  For 
this  sport  the  most  untractable  ox  or  bull  is 
turned  loose  upon  a  level  common,  when  all 
the  parties  who  propose  to  join  in  the  amuse- 
ment, being  aheady  mounted,  start  off  in  pur- 
suit of  him.  The  most  successful  rider,  as 
soon  as  he  gets  near  enough  to  the  bull, 
seizes  him  by  the  tail,  and  with  a  sudden 
manoeuvre,  whirls  him  topsy-turvy  upon  the 
plain — to  the  no  httle  risk  of  breaking  his  own 
neck,  should  his  horse  stumble  or  be  tripped 
by  the  legs  of  the  falUng  bull. 

Respecting  fandangos^  I  will  observe  that 
this  term,  as  it  is  used  in  New  Mexico,  is  never 
applied  to  any  particular  dance,  but  is  the 
usual  designation  for  those  ordinary  assem- 
blies where  dancing  and  frolicking  are  car- 
ried on ;  haile  (or  ball)  being  generally  appUed 
to  those  of  a  higher  grade.  The  former  es- 
pecially are  very  frequent;  for  nothing  is 
more  general,  throughout  the  country,  and 
with  all  classes  than  dancing.  From  the 
gravest  priest  to  the  buffoon — ^from  the  rich- 
est nabob  to  the  beggar — ^from  the  governoi 
to  the  ranchero — from  the  soberest  matron  to 
the  flippant  belle — ^from  the  grandest  senora 
to  the  cocinera — all  partake  of  this  exhilarat- 


LADY-SMOKING.  243 

ing  amusement.  To  judge  from  the  quantity 
of  tuned  instruments  which  salute  the  ear 
almost  every  night  in  the  week,  one  would 
suppose  that  a  perpetual  carnival  prevailed 
everywhere.  The  musical  instruments  used 
at  the  haiks  Q.nd  fandangos  are  usually  the  fid- 
dle and  bandolin^  or  giiitarra,  accompanied  in 
some  villages  by  the  tombe  or  little  Indian 
drum.  The  musicians  occasionally  acquire 
considerable  proficiency  in  the  use  of  these 
instruments.  But  what  most  oddly  greets, 
and  really  outrages  most  Protestant  ears,  is 
the  accompaniment  of  divine  service  with  the 
very  same  instruments,  and  often  with  the 
same  tunes. 

Of  all  the  petty  vices  practised  by  the  New 
Mexicans,  the  vicio  inocente  of  smoking 
among  ladies,  is  the  most  intolerable;  and 
yet  it  is  a  habit  of  which  the  loveUest  and  the 
most  refined  equally  partake.  The  puro  or 
cigarro^  is  seen  in  the  mouths  of  all :  it  is 
handed  round  in  the  parlor,  and  introduced 
at  the  dinner  table — even  in  the  ball-room  it 
is   presented  to   ladies   as   regularly  as  any 

*  The  puro  is  a  common  cigar  of  pure  tobacco ;  but  the  term 
cigarro  or  cigarrito  is  applied  to  those  made  of  cut  tobacco  rolled 
up  in  a  strip  of  paper  or  corn-husk.  The  latter  are  by  far  in  the 
most  general  use  in  New  Mexico,  even  among  the  men,  and  are 
those  only  smoked  by  the  females.  In  this  province  cigarros  are 
rarely  sold  in  the  shops,  being  generally  manufactured  by  every 
one  just  as  they  are  needed.  Their  expertness  in  this  *  accomplish- 
ment' is  often  remarkable.  The  mounted  vaquero  will  take  out 
his  guagito  (his  little  tobacco -flask),  his  packet  of  hojas  (or  pre- 
pared husks),  and  his  flint,  steel,  etc., — make  his  cigarrito,  strike 
fire  and  commence  smoking  in  a  nlinute's  time — all  while  at  full 
speed :  and  the  next  minute  will  perhaps  lazo  the  wildest  bull 
without  interrupting  his  smoke. 


244  INEBRIETY. 

other  species  of  ^refreshment;'  and  in  the 
dance  the  sefiorita  may  often  be  seen  whirl- 
ing round  with  a  Ugbted  cigarrito  in  her 
mouth.  The  belles  of  the  Southern  cities  are 
very  frequently  furnished  with  tenazitas  de  oro 
(little  golden  tongs),  to  hold  the  cigar  with,  so 
as  to  prevent  their  dehcate  fingers  from  being 
polluted  either  with  the  stain  or  scent  of  to- 
bacco ;  forgetting  at  the  §ame  time  its  disa- 
greeable effects  upon  the  lips  and  breath. 

Notwithstanding  their  numerous  vices,  how- 
ever, I  should  do  the  New  Mexicans  the  just- 
ice to  say  that  they  are  but  Uttle  addicted  to 
inebriety  and  its  attendant  dissipations.  Yet 
this  doubtlessly  results  to  a  considerable  de- 
gree from  the  dearness  of  spirituous  hquors, 
which  virtually  places  them  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  lower  classes. 


CHAPTER    Xlll. 

Militaiy  Hierarchy  of  Mexico — Religious  Superstitions— Le- 
gend of  Nuestra  Sefiora  de  Chtiadalupe — A  profane  version 
of  the  Story — A  curious  Plan  for  manufacturing  Water — 
Saints  and  Images — Processions — How  to  make  it  Rain — 
The  Sacred  Host — Fanaticism  and  Murder — Honors  paid  to 
a  Bishop — Servility  to  Priests — Attendance  at  Public  Wor- 
ship— New  Mexicans  in  Church — The  Vesper  Bells — Passion 
Week  and  the  Ceremcnies  pertaining  thereto — Ridiculous 
Penitencia — Whitewashing  of  Criminals — Matrimonial  Con- 
nexions and  Mode  of  Contracting  them — Restrictions  upon 
Lovers — Onerous  Fees  paid  for  Marriages  and  Burials — An- 
ecdote of  a  Ranchero — Ditto  of  a  Servant  and  a  Widow,  illus- 
trative of  Priestly  Extortion — Modes  of  Burial,  and  Burial 
Ground  of  the  Heretics. 

The  Mexicans  seem  the  legitimate  de- 
scendants of  the  subjects  of  'His  Most  Catho- 
hc  Majesty ;'  for  the  Romish  faith  is  not  only 
the  religion  estabUshed  by  law,  but  the  only 
one  tolerated  by  the  constitution :  a  system  of 
repubhcan  liberty  wholly  incomprehensible  to 
the  independent  and  tolerant  spirits  of  the 
United  States.  Foreigners  only  of  other 
creeds,  in  accordance  with  treaty  stipulations, 
can  worship  privately  within  their  own  houses. 
The  Mexicans,  indeed,  talk  of  a  '  union  of 
Church  and  State  :  they  should  rather  say 
a  *  union  of  Church  and  Army ;'  for,  as  has 

21* 


246  MARVELLOUS    APPARITIONS. 

already  been  shown,  the  civil  authority  is  so 
nearly  merged  in  the  miUtary  and  the  ecclesi- 
astical, that  the.  government,  if  not  a  mihtary 
hierarchy,  is  something  so  near  akin  that  it  is 
difficult  to  draw  the  distinction.  As  Mr. 
jNIayer  very  appropriately  remarks,  you  are 
warned  of  the  double  dominion  of  the  army 
and  the  church  "  by  the  constant  sound  of 
the  drum  and  the  bell,  which  ring  in  your  ears 
from  morn  to  midnight,  and  drown  the  sounds 
of  industry  and  labor." 

In  the  variety  and  grossness  of  popular  su- 
perstitions. Northern  Mexico  can  probably 
compete  with  any  civihzed  country  in  the 
world.  Others  may  have  their  extravagant 
traditions,  their  fanatical  prejudices,  their 
priestly  impostures,  but  here  the  popular  creed 
seems  to  be  the  embodiment  of  as  much  that 
is  fantastic  and  improbable  in  idolatrous  wor- 
ship, as  it  is  possible  to  clothe  in  the  garb  of 
a  christian  faith.  It  would  fill  volumes  to  re- 
late one-half  of  the  wonderful  miracles  and 
extraordinary  apparitions  said  to  have  occurred 
during  and  since  the  conquest  of  the  Indian 
Pueblos  and  their  conversion  to  the  Romish 
faith.  Their  character  maybe  inferred  from 
the  following  national  legend  oiLa  MaraviUosa 
Aparicion  de  Nuestra  Senora  de  Guadalupe — 
anglice^  the  marvellous  apparition  of  Our  La- 
dy of  Guadalupe, — which,  in  some  one  of  its 
many  traditionary  shapes,  is  generally  believ- 
ed throughout  the  republic.  I  have  seen  some 
half  a  dozen  written  versions  of  this  celebrat- 
ed tradition,  and  heard  about  as  many  oral 


MJESTRA    SENORA    DE    GUADALUPE.  247 

ones ;  but  no  two  agree  in  all  the  particulars. 
However,  that  which  has  received  most  cur- 
rency informs  us,  that,  on  the  12th  of  De- 
cember, 1531,  an  Indian  called  Juan  Diego, 
w^hile  passing  over  the  barren  hill  of  Tepeya- 
cac  (about  a  league  northward  from  the  city 
of  Mexico),  in  quest  of  medicinal  herbs,  had 
his  attention  suddenly  arrested  by  the  fra- 
grance of  flowers,  and  the  sound  of  deUghtful 
music ;  and  on  looking  up,  he  saw  an  angelic 
sort  of  figure  directly  before  him.  Being  ter- 
rified he  attempted  to  flee  ;  but  the  appariljon 
calling  to  him  by  name,  "  Juan  Diego,"  said 
she,  "  go  tell  the  bishop  to  have  me  a  place 
of  worship  erected  on  this  very  spot."  The 
Indian  rephed  that  he  could  not  return,  as  he 
was  seeking  remedios  for  a  dying  relative. 
But  the  figure  bade  him  to  do  as  command- 
ed, and  have  no  further  care  about  his  rela- 
tive— that  he  was  then  well.  Juan  Diego 
went  to  the  city,  but  being  unable  to  procure 
an  audience  from  the  bishop,  he  concluded  he 
had  been  acting  under  a  delusion,  and  again 
set  off*  for  his  remedios.  Upon  ascending  the 
same  hill,  however,  the  apparition  again  ac- 
costed him,  and  hearing  his  excuse,  upbraided 
him  for  his  want  of  faith  and  energy ;  and  said, 
*'  Tell  the  bishop  that  it  is  Guadalupe,  the  Vir- 
gin Mary,  come  to  dwell  amongst  and  protect 
the  Mexicans,  who  sends  thee."  The  Indian, 
returning  again  to  the  city,  forced  his  way 
into  the  presence  of  the  bishop,  who,  hke  a 
good  sensible  man,  received  the  messenger 
with  jeers,   and  treated  him  as  a  maniac ; 


248  THE    MIRACULOUS    IMAGE. 

telling  him  finally  to  bring  some  sign,  which, 
if  really  the  Mother  of  God,  his  directress 
could  readily  furnish. 

The  perplexed  Indian  left  the  bishop's  pre- 
sence resolved  to  avoid  further  molestation 
from  his  spiritual  acquaintance,  by  taldng 
another  route ;  yet,  when  near  the  place  of 
his  first  meeting,  he  again  encountered  the 
apparition,  who,  hearing  the  result  of  his  mis- 
sion, ordered  him  to  chmb  a  naked  rock  hard 
by,  and  collect  a  bouquet  of  flowers  which 
he  .would  find  growing  there.  Juan  Diego, 
albeit  without  faith,  obeyed,  when,  to  his  sur- 
prise he  found  the  flowers  referred  to,  and 
brought  them  to  the  Vhgin,  who,  throwing 
them  into  his  tilma,  commanded  him  to  carry 
them  to  the  bishop  ;  saying,  "  When  he  sees 
these  he  will  believe,  as  he  well  knows  that 
flowers  do  not  bloom  at  this  season,  much 
less  upon  that  barren  rock."  The  humble 
messenger  now  with  more  courage  sought  the 
bishop's  presence,  and  threw  out  the  bloom- 
ing credentials  of  his  mission  before  him ; 
when  lo !  to  the  astonishment  of  all,  and  to 
the  entire  conviction  of  his  Senoria  ilustrisima, 
the  perfect  image  of  the  apparition  appeared 
imprinted  on  the  inside  of  the  tilma.^ 

The  reverend  Prelate  now  fully  acknow- 
ledged the  divinity  of  the  picture,  and  in  a 

*  This  is  a  kind  of  mantle  or  loose  covering  worn  by  the  In- 
dians, which,  in  the  present  instance,  was  made  of  the  coarse  fila- 
ments of  a  species  of  maguey,  and  a  little  resembled  the  common 
coffee  sacks.  The  painting,  as  it  necessarily  must  be  on  such  a 
material,  is  said  to  be  coarse,  and  represents  the  Virgin  covered 
with  a  blue  robe  bespangled  with  stars. 


GUADALUPE    MEDALS. 


249 


conclave  of  ecclesiastics  convened  for  the  pur- 
pose, he  pronounced  it  the  image  of  La  ver- 
dadera  Virgen  and  protectress  of  Mexico.  A 
splendid  chapel  was  soon  after  erected  upon 
the  spot  designated  in  the  mandate,  in  which 
the  miraculous  painting  was  deposited,  where 
it  is  preserved  to  the  present  day.  In  the 
suburbs  of  every  principal  city  in  the  repub- 
lic, there  is  now  a  chapel  specially  dedicated 
to  Nuestra  SeJiora  de  Guadcdvpe,  where  coarse 
resemblances  of  the  original  picture  are  to 
be  seen.  Rough  paintings  of  the  same,  of 
various  dimensions,  are  also  to  be  met  with 
in  nearly  every  dwelling,  from  the  palace  to 
the  most  miserable  hovel.  The  image,  with 
an  adapted  motto,  has  also  been  stamped 
upon  medals,  which  are  svning  about  the 
necks  of  the  faithful.^ 


*  The  accompanying  cut  represents  both  sides  of  a  medal  of 
"  Nuestra  Senora  de  Guadalupe  de  MezicOy*  of  which,  as  I  have 
been  informed,  216,000  were  struck  at  Birmingham  in  the  year 
1831,  designed  for  the  Mexican  market.  Similar  medals  are  worn 
by  nearly  nine-tenths  of  the  population  of  Northern  Mexico.  On 
one  side,  as  will  be  seen,  the  Virgin  is  represented  in  her  star- 


250  THE    PROFANE    STORY. 

As  a  farther  confirmation  of  the  miracle,  it  is 
also  told,  that  when  Juan  Diego  returned  to 
his  home,  he  found  his  relative  in  good  health 
— that  he  had  suddenly  risen  from  the  last 
extremity  about  the  time  of  the  former's 
meeting  with  the  Virgin. 

Now  comes  the  profane  version  of  the 
story,  which  the  skeptical  have  set  afloat,  as 
the  most  reasonable  one  ;  but  against  which, 
in  the  name  of  orthodoxy,  I  feel  bound  to 
enter  my  protest.  To  the  better  understand- 
ing of  this  *  explanatory  tradition,'  it  may  be 
necessary  to  premise  that  the  name  of  Gua- 
dalupe was  already  famiUstr  to  the  Spaniards, 
the  Virgin  Mary  having,  it  is  said,  long  before 
appeared  in  Spain,  under  the  same  title ;  on 
which  occasion  an  order  of  monks,  styled 
Fraile's  Guadalupanos^  had  been  instituted. 
One  of  these  worthy  fathers  who  had  been 
sent  as  a  missionary  to  Mexico,  finding  the 
Indians  rather  stubborn  and  unyielding,  con- 
ceived the  plan  of  flattering  their  national 
vanity  by  fabricating  a  saint  suited  for  the 
occasion.  The  Guadalupano  had  a  poor  friend 
who  was  an  excellent  painter,  to  whom  he 
said,  one  day,  "  Take  this  tilma" — presenting 
him  one  of  the  coarsest  and  most  slazy  tex- 

spangled  robe,  supported  by  a  cherub  and  the  moon  under  her 
i^ei :  a  design,  which,  it  has  been  suggested,  was  most  probably 
drawn  from  Revelation  xii.  1.  The  date,  "A.  1805,"  is  that  per- 
haps of  some  one  of  the  innumerable  miracles,  which,  according 
to  fame  in  Mexico,  have  been  wrought  by  the  Virgin  Guadalupe. 
The  motto,  "  Non  fecit  taliter  omni  nationi"  (She  "  hath  not  dealt 
60  with  any  nation")  which  is  foupd  on  the  reverse  of  the  medal, 
is  extracted  from  Psalm  cxlvii.  20. 


■    PAINTING    OF    THE    IMAGE.  251 

ture  (a  sort  of  mania  de  guaiigoche) ;  ^*  paste 
it  upon  canvass,  and  paint  me  thereon  the 
handsomest  effigy  of  Nuestra  Sefiora  de  Gua- 
dalupe that  your  fancy  can  portray."  When 
this  was  done  accordmg  to  order,  and  the 
tilma  separated  from  the  canvass,  the  picture 
appeared  somewhat  miraculous.  A^iewed 
very  closely,  it  showed  exceedingly  dim ;  but 
upon  receding  to  some  distance,  so  that  the 
eye  could  embrace  a  larger  field  of  the  open 
texture,  it  appeared  quite  distinct  and  beauti- 
ful. This  effect  is  often  alluded  to  at  the  pre- 
sent day,  and  easily  as  it  might  be  accounted 
for  upon  philosophical  principles,  I  have  heard 
many  an  ignorant  Mexican  declare,  that  la 
Santisima  Hrg-^n  concealed  herself  from  such 
as  profaned  her  shrine  by  a  too  near  approach, 
and  only  shone  forth  in  all  her  brilliancy  to 
those  who  kept  at  a  respectful  distance.  '  But, 
in  conclusion,  the  story  relates,  that  a  suitable 
damsel  being  selected  and  decked  out  to 
represent  the  Virgin,  the  affair  was  pkiyed  off 
as  it  has  been  narrated. 

As  regards  the  miracle  of  the  fresh  flowers 
in  December  the  profanos  say,  that  there  was 
nothing  very  wonderful  about  it,  as  flowers 
were  known  to  bloom  in  the  lowlands,  and 
only  a  few  leagues  from  the  spot  where  the 
affair  took  place,  at  all  seasons  of  the  year; 
implying  that  these  had  been  engrafted  upon 
the  rock  for  the  occasion.  There  are  some 
who  go  so  far  as  to  insinuate  that  the  bishop 
and  other  ecclesiastics  were  privy  to  the  whole 
affair,    and  that   every  precaution  had   been 


252  A    WATER   MIRACLE. 

taken  to  see  the  Indian  who  played  first  fiddle 
in  the  matter,  provided  with  a  tiima,  similar 
to  the  one  on  which  the  image  of  the  Virgin 
was  painted,  and  that  this  was  artfully  slipped 
in  the  place  of  the  former,  which  the  Indian 
had  doffed  when  he  cUmbed  the  rock  after 
the  flowers. — I  have  not  seen  the  original  por- 
trait, but  most  of  the  copies  and  imitations  I 
have  met  with,  represent  the  Virgin  with  that 
pecuUarly  tawny  complexion  which  was  pro- 
bably deemed  indispensable  to  conciliate  the 
prejudices  of  the  aborigines. 

The  reader  may  reconcile  the  foregoing  dis- 
crepancies in  the  best  way  he  can :  all  that  I 
have  to  add  is,  that  the  apparition  having 
been  canonized  by  the  Pope,  a  belief  in  it 
now  constitutes  as  much  a  part  of  the  reli- 
gious faith  of  the  Mexicans,  as  any  article  of 
the  Apostolic  Creed.  To  judge  from  the 
blind  and  reverential  awe  in  which  the  Vir- 
gin Guadalupe  is  held  by  the  lowly  and  the 
ignorant,  one  would  suppose  her  to  be  the 
first  person  in  the  Divinity ;  for  to  her  their 
vows  are  directed,  their  prayers  offered  up, 
and  all  their  confessions  made. 

Among  the  many  traditions  implicitly  be- 
heved  in  by  the  people,  and  which  tend  to 
obstruct  the  advancement  of  knowledge,  there 
is  one  equally  as  amusing  and  extravagant  as 
the  foregoing,  which  has  been  gravely  re- 
counted by  the  present  Vicar  of  New  Mexico 
and  ex-delegate  to  Congress.  During  the 
memorable  insurrection  of  1680,  the  Pueblo 
of  San  Felipe  was  about  the  only  one  that 


HEALING    IMAGES.  253 

remained  faithful  to  the  Spaniards  in  all  the 
North.  Tt  was  during  that  exciting  period 
that  the  padre  of  another  Pueblo  took  refuge 
among  them.  Being  besieged  by  their  neigh- 
bors and  their  communication  with  the  wa- 
ter entirely  cut  off,  they  applied  for  advice 
to  the  reverend  padre,  who  bade  them  not  de- 
spair, as  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  supply  them 
with  water.  He  then  began  to  pray  very  fer- 
vently, after  which  he  opened  a  vein  in  each 
of  his  arms,  from  Avhence  there  flowed  two 
such  copious  streams  of  water  that  all  fears 
of  being  reduced  by  thirst  were  completely 
allayed ! 

It  is  a  part  of  the  superstitious  blindness  of 
these  people  to  believe  that  every  one  of  their 
legion  of  canonized  saints  possesses  the  power 
of  performing  certain  miracles ;  and  their  aid 
is  generally  invoked  on  all  occasions  of  sick- 
ness and  distress.  The  kindest  office,  there- 
fore, that  the  friends  of  a  sick  person  can  per- 
form, is  to  bring  forward  the  image  of  some 
of  those  saints  whose  healing  powers  have 
been  satisfactorily  tested.  The  efficacy  of 
these  superstitious  remedies  will  not  be  diffi- 
cult to  account  for,  when  the  powerful  influ- 
ence of  the  imagination  upon  disease  is  taken 
into  consideration. 

The  images  of  patron  saints  are  never  put 
in  such  general  requisition,  however,  as  in 
seasons  of  severe  drought.  The  priests,  be- 
ing generally  expert  at  guessing  the  approach 
of  a  pluvial  period,  take  good  care  not  to 
make  confident  promises  till  they  have  sub- 

22 


254  RAIN    rROCESSlON, 

stantial  reason  to  anticipate  a  speedy  fulfil- 
ment of  their  prophecies.  When  the  fitting 
season  draws  nigh,  they  carry  out  the  image 
of  Nuestra  Senora  de  Guadakipe,  or  that  of 
some  other  favorite  saint,  and  parade  about 
the  streets,  the  fields  and  the  meadows,  fol- 
lowed by  all  the  men,  women,  and  children 
of  the  neighborhood,  in  solemn  procession. 
Should  the  clouds  condescend  to  vouchsafe 
a  supply  of  rain  within  a  week  or  two  of  this 
general  humiUation,  no  one  ever  thinks  of  be- 
grudging the  scores  of  dollars  that  have  been 
paid  to  the  priests  for  bringing  about  so  happy 
a  result. 

Speaking  of  processions,  I  am  reminded  of 
another  peculiar  custom  so  prevalent  in  Mexi- 
co, that  it  never  fails  to  attract  the  attention 
of  strangers.  This  is  the  passage  of  the  Sa- 
cred Host  to  the  residence  of  persons  danger- 
ously ill,  for  the  purpose  of  administering  to 
them  the  Extreme  Unction.  In  New  Mexi- 
co, however,  this  procession  is  not  attended 
with  so  much  ostentatious  display  as  it  is  in 
the  South,  the  paradise  of  ecclesiastics,  where 
it  is  conveyed  in  a  black  coach  drawn  by  a 
pair  of  black  mules,  accompanied  by  armed 
soldiers  and  followed  by  crowds  of  Uperos 
of  all  sexes  and  ages.  During  the  procession 
of  the  Host,  two  church-bells  of  different  tones 
are  kept  sounding  by  alternate  strokes.  Also 
the  carriage  is  always  preceded  by  a  bell-man 
tinkling  a  little  bell  in  regular  time,  to  notify 
all  within  hearing  of  its  approach,  that  they 
may  be  prepared  to  pay  it  due  homage.  When 


THE    HOST.  255 

this  bell  is  heard,  all  those  that  happen  to  be 
within  sight  of  the  procession,  though  at  ever 
so  great  a  distance,  instantly  kneel  and  re- 
main in  that  position  till  it  has  passed  out  of 
sight.  On  these  occasions,  if  an  American 
happens  to  be  within  hearing,  he  endeavors 
to  avoid  the  cortege^  by  turning  the  corner  of 
a  street  or  entering  a  shop  or  the  house  of  a 
friend ;  for  although  it  may  be  expedient,  and 
even  rational,  to  conform  with  the  customs 
and  ceremonies  of  those  countries  we  are  so- 
journing in,  very  few  Protestants  would  feel 
disposed  to  fall  on  their  knees  before  a  coach 
freighted  with  frail  mortals  pretending  to  re- 
present the  Godhead !  I  am  sorry  to  say  that 
non-compliants  are  frequently  insulted  and 
sometimes  pelted  with  stones  by  the  rabble. 
Even  a  foreign  artisan  was  once  massacred  in 
the  Mexican  metropolis  because  he  refused 
to  come  out  of  his  shop,  where  he  was  kneel- 
ing, and  perform  the  act  of  genuflexion  in  the 
street ! 

This  abject  idolatry  sometimes  takes  a  still 
more  humiUating  aspect,  and  descends  to  the 
worship  of  men  in  the  capacity  of  religious 
rulers.  On  the  occasion  of  the  Bishop  of 
Durango's  visit  to  Santa  Fe  in  1833,  an  event 
which  had  not  taken  place  for  a  great  many 
years,  the  infatuated  population  hailed  his  ar- 
rival with  as  much  devotional  enthusiasm  as 
if  it  had  been  the  second  advent  of  the  Mes- 
siah. Magnificent  preparations  were  made 
everywhere  for  his  reception :  the  streets  were 
swept  the  roads  and  bridges  on  his  route  re* 


256  HOMAGE    TO    A    BISHOP. 

paired  and  decorated ;  and  from  every  win- 
dow in  the  city  there  hung  such  a  profusion 
of  fancy  curtains  and  rich  cloths  that  the 
imagination  was  carried  back  to  those  glow- 
ing descriptions  of  enchanted  worlds  which 
one  reads  of  in  the  fables  of  necromancers. 
I  must  observe,  however,  that  there  is  a  cus- 
tom in  all  the  towns  of  Mexico  (which  it 
would  not  be  safe  to  neglect),  providing  that 
whenever  a  religious  procession  takes  place, 
all  the  doors  and  windows  facing  the  street 
along  which  it  is  to  pass,  shall  be  decorated 
with  shawls,  carpets,  or  fancy  cloths,  according 
to  the  means  and  capabilities  of  the  proprie- 
tor. During  the  bishop's  sojourn  in  Santa 
Fe,  which,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  inhabitants, 
lasted  for  several  weeks,  he  never  appeared 
in  the  streets  but  that  '  all  true  Catholics '  who 
were  so  fortunate  as  to  obtain  a  gUmpse  of 
his  Senoria  Ilustrisima  immediately  dropped 
upon  their  knees,  and  never  moved  from  that 
position  till  the  mitred  priest  had  either  vouch- 
safed his  benediction  or  had  disappeared. 
Even  the  principal  personages  of  the  city 
would  not  venture  to  address  him  till  they 
had  first  knelt  at  his  feet  and  kissed  his  '  pas- 
toral ring.'  This,  however,  is  only  a  height- 
ened picture  of  what  occurs  every  day  in  the 
intercourse  between  the  rancheros  and  the 
common  padres  of  the  country.  The  slavish 
bsequiousness  of  the  lower  classes  towards 
these  pampered  priests  is  almost  incredible. 

No  people  are  more  punctual  in  their  at- 
tendance upon  pubUc  worship,  or  more  exact 


LA  ORACION  OR  VESPERS.        257 

in  the  performance  of  the  external  rites  of 
religion,  than  the  New  Mexicans.  A  man 
would  about  as  soon  think  of  venturing  in 
twenty  fathoms  of  water  without  being  able 
to  swim,  as  of  undertaking  a  journey  with- 
out hearing  mass  first.  These  religious  exer- 
cises, however,  partake  but  seldom  of  the 
character  of  true  devotion ;  for  people  may 
be  seen  chattering  or  tittering  Avhile  in  the  act 
of  crossing  themselves,  or  muttering  some 
formal  prayer.  Indeed,  it  is  the  common  re- 
.  mark  of  strangers,  that  they  are  wont  to  wear 
much  graver  countenances  while  dancing  at 
a  fandango  than  during  their  devotional  exer- 
cises at  the  foot  of  the  altar.  In  nothing, 
however,  is  their  observance  of  the  outward 
forms  of  rehgion  more  remarkable  than  in 
their  deportment  every  day  towards  the  close 
of  twilight,  when  the  large  bell  of  the  Parro- 
quia  peals  for  la  oracion,  or  vespers.  All  con- 
versation is  instantly  suspended — all  labor 
ceases — people  of  all  classes,  whether  on  foot 
or  on  horseback,  make  a  sudden  halt — even 
the  laden  porter,  groaning  under  the  weight 
of  an  insupportable  burden,  stops  in  the  midst 
of  his  career  and  stands  still.  An  almost 
breathless  silence  reigns  throughout  the  town, 
disturbed  only  by  the  occasional  sibilations  of 
the  devout  multitude :  all  of  which,  accom- 
panied by  the  slow  heavy  peals  of  a  large  so- 
norous bell,  afford  a  scene  truly  solemn  and 
appropriate.  At  the  expiration  of  about  two 
minutes  the  charm  is  suddenly  broken  by  the 
clatter  of  livelier-toned  bells ;    and   a   buenas 

22* 


258  4^V^5  GOOD    FRIDAY. 

tardes  (good  evening)  to  those  present  closes 
the  ceremony :  when  presto,  all  is  bustle  and 
confusion  again — the  colloquial  chit-chat  is 
resumed — the  smith  plies  upon  his  anvil 
with  redoubled  energy — the  cUnk  of  the 
hammer  simultaneously  resounds  in  every 
direction — the  wayfarers  are  again  in  motion, 
— both  pleasure  and  business,  in  short,  as- 
sume their  respective  sway. 

Although  the  Catholics  have  a  saint  for 
each  day  in  the  year,  the  number  of  canon- 
ized fiestas  in  which  labor  is  prohibited  has 
been  somewhat  reduced  in  Mexico.  La  Semu- 
na  Santa,  or  Passion  Week,  is  perhaps  the  pe- 
riod when  the  religious  feeling,  such  as  it  is, 
is  most  fully  excited:  Viernes  Santo  (Good 
Friday),  especially,  is  observed  with  great 
pomp  and  splendor.  An  image  of  Christ 
large  as  life,  nailed  to  a  huge  wooden  cross, 
is  paraded  through  the  streets,  in  the  midst  of 
an  immense  procession,  accompanied  by  a 
glittering  array  of  carved  images,  representing 
the  Virgin  Mary,  Mary  Magdalene,  and  seve- 
ral others ;  while  the  most  notorious  person* 
ages  of  antiquity,  who  figured  at  that  great 
eraof  the  World's  history, — the  centurion  with 
a  band  of  guards,  armed  with  lances,  and  ap- 
parelled in  the  costume  supposed  to  have 
been  worn  in  those  days, — may  be  seen  be- 
striding splendidly  caparisoned  horses,  in  the 
breathing  reality  of  flesh  and  blood.  Tak- 
ing it  all  in  all,  this  spectacle, — ^the  ceremo- 
nies and  manoeuvres  which  attend  its  career 
through  the  densely  crowded  and  ornament* 


RIDICULOUS    PENITENCIA.  259 

ed  streets, — are  calculated  to  produce  impres- 
sions of  a  most  confused  description,  in  which 
regret  and  melancholy  may  be  said  to  form 
no  inconsiderable  share. 

It  has  been  customary  for  great  malefactors 
to  propitiate  Divine  forgiveness  by  a  cruel  sort 
o( penitencia,  which  generally  takes  place  dur- 
ing the  Semana  Santa.  I  once  chanced  to 
be  in  the  town  of  Tome  on  Good  Friday, 
when  my  attention  was  arrested  by  a  man 
almost  naked,  bearing,  in  imitation  of  Simon,  a 
huge  cross  upon  his  shoulders,  which,  though 
constructed  of  the  hghtest  wood,  must  have 
weighed  over  a  hundred  pounds.  The 
long  end  dragged  upon  the  ground,  as  we 
have  seen  it  represented  in  sacred  pictures, 
and  about  the  middle  swung  a  stone  of  im- 
mense dimensions,  appended  there  for  the 
purpose  of  making  the  task  more  laborious. 
Not  far  behind  followed  another  equally  des- 
titute of  clothing,  with  his  whole  body  wrap- 
ped in  chains  and  cords,  which  seemed  buried 
in  the  muscles,  and  which  so  cramped  and 
confined  him  that  he  was  scarcely  able  to 
keep  pace  with  the  procession.  The  person 
who  brought  up  the  rear  presented  a  still 
more  disgusting  aspect.  He  walked  along  with 
a  patient  and  composed  step,  while  another 
followed  close  behind  belaboring  him  lustily 
with  a  whip,  which  he  flourished  with  all  the 
satisfaction  of  an  amateur ;  but  as  the  lash 
was  pointed  only  with  a  tuft  of  untwisted 
sea-grass,  its  application  merely  served  to 
keep  open  the  wounds  upon  the  penitent's 


260  MARRIAGE    CONTRACTS. 

back,  which  had  been  scarified,  as  I  was  in- 
formed, with  •  the  keen  edge  of  a  flint,  and 
was  bleeding  most  profusely.  The  blood  wsnd 
kept  in  perpetual  flow  by  the  stimulating 
juice  of  certain  herbs,  carried  by  a  third  per- 
son, into  which  the  scourger  frequently  dip 
ped  his  lash.  Although  the  actors  in  this  tra- 
gical farce  were  completely  mufiied,  yet  they 
were  well  known  to  many  of  the  by-standers, 
one  of  whom  assured  me  that  they  were  tlnree 
of  the  most  notorious  rascals  in  the  country. 
By  submitting  to  this  species  of  penance,  they 
annually  received  complete  absolution  of 
their  past  year's  sins,  and,  thus  'purified/  en- 
tered afresh  on  the  old  career  of  wickedness 
and  crime. 

In  New  Mexico,  the  institution  of  marriage 
changes  the  legal  rights  of  the  parties,  but  it 
scarcely  affects  their  moral  obligations.  It  is 
usually  looked  upon  as  a  convenient  cloak  for 
irregularities,  which  society  less  willingly  tole- 
rates in  the  fives  of  unmarried  women.  Yet 
,when  it  is  considered  that  the  majority  of 
matches  are  forced  and  ill-assorted,  some  idea 
may  be  formed  of  the  little  incitement  that  is 
given  to  virtue.  There  are  very  few  parents 
who  would  stoop  to  consult  a  young  lady's 
wishes  before  concluding  a  marriage  contract, 
nor  would  maidens,  generally,  ever  dream  of  a 
matrimonial  connection  unless  proposed  first 
by  the  father.  The  lover's  proposals  are,  up- 
on the  samej)rinciple,  made  in  writing  direct 
to  the  parents  themselves,  and  without  the 
least  deference  to  the  wishes  or  incfinations 


MARRIAGE    FEES.  261 

of  the  young  lady  whose  hand  is  thus  sought 
in  marriage.  The  tender  emotions  engender- 
ed between  lovers  during  walks  and  rambles 
along  the  banks  of  silent  streams,  are  never 
experienced  in  this  country ;  for  the  sexes  are 
seldom  permitted  to  converse  or  be  together 
alone.  In  short,  instances  have  actually  oc- 
curred when  the  betrothed  couple  have  never 
seen  each  other  till  brought  to  the  altar  to  be 
joined  in  wedlock. 

Among  the  humbler  classes,  there  are  still 
more  powerful  causes  calculated  to  produce 
^irregularity  of  life ;  not  the  least  of  which  is 
the  enormous  fee  that  must  be  paid  to  the  cu- 
rate for  tying  the  matrimonial  knot.  This 
system  of  extortion  is  carried  so  far  as  to 
amount  very  frequently  to  absolute  prohibi- 
tion: for  the  means  of  the  bridegroom  are 
often  insufficient  for  the  exigency  of  the  oc- 
casion; and  the  priests  seldom  consent  to  join 
people  in  wedlock  until  the  money  has  been 
secured  to  them.  The  curates  being  with- 
out control,  the  marriage  rates  are  some- 
what irregular,  but  they  usually  increase  in 
proportion  to  the  character  of  the  ceremonies 
and  to  the  circumstances  of  the  parties.  The 
lowest  (about  twenty  dollars)  are  adapted  to 
the  simplest  form,  solemnized  in  church  at 
mass ;  but  with  the  excuse  of  any  extra  ser- 
vice and  ceremonies,  particularly  if  performed 
at  a  private  house,  the  fees  are  increased  often 
as  high  as  several  hundred  dollars:  I  have 
heard  of  $500  being  paid  for  a  marriage  cere- 
mony.   Th.e  following  communication,  which 


262  A    RANCHERO'S    COMPLAINT. 

appeared  in  a  Chihuahua  paper  under  the  sig- 
nature of  "  Ua  Ranchero^'  affords  some  illus- 
tration of  the  grievances  of  the  plebeians  in 
this  respect.     Literally  translated  it  runs  thus : 

^^  Messrs,  Editors  of  the  Noticioso  de  Chihuahua: 
"  Permit  me,  through  your  paper,  to  say  a 
few  words  in  print,  as  those  of  my  pen  have 
been  unsuccessfully  employed  with  the  cura^ 
of  Allende  and  Jimenez,  to  whom  I  apphed 
the  other  day  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 
their  legal  charge  to  marry  one  of  my  sons. 
The  following  simple  and  concise  answer  is 
all  that  I  have  been  able  to  elicit  from  either 
of  these  ecclesiastics: — '  The 'marriage  fees  are 
a  hundred  and  nineteen  dollars!  I  must  con- 
fess that  I  was  completely  suffocated  when  1 
heard  this  outrageous  demand  upon  my  poor 
purse ;  and  did  I  not  pride  myself  on  being  a 
true  ApostoUc  Roman  Catholic,  and  were  it 
not  that  the  charming  graces  of  my  intend- 
ed daughter-in-law  have  so  captivated  my 
son  that  nothing  but  marriage  will  satisfy  him, 
I  would  assuredly  advise  him  to  contrive  some 
other  arrangement  with  his  beloved,  which 
might  not  be  so  ruinous  to  our  poor  purse ; 
for  reflect  that  $119  are  the  life  and  all  of  a 
poor  ranchero.  If  nothing  else  will  do,  I  shall 
have  to  sell  my  few  cows  [rtiis  vaquitas)  to 
help  my  son  out  of  this  difficulty." — The 
*Eanchero'  then  appeals  to  the  Government 
to  remedy  such  evils,  by  imposing  some  salu- 
tary restrictions  upon  the  clergy;  and  con- 
cludes by  saying,  ''If  this  is  not  done,  I  will 


BAPTISMAL    AND    BURIAL    FEES.  263 

never  permit  either  of  my  remaining  three 
sons  to  marry." 

This  article  was  certainly  an  effort  of  bold- 
ness against  the  priesthood, 'which  may  have 
cost  the  poor  '  Ranchero'  a  sentence  of  ex- 
communication. Few  of  his  countrymen 
would  venture  on  a  similar  act  of  temerity; 
and  at  least  nine-tenths  profess  the  most  pro- 
found submission  to  their  religious  rulers.  Be- 
ing thus  bred  to  look  upon  their  priests  as 
infalUble  and  holy  samples  of  piety  and  vir- 
tue, we  should  not  be  so  much  surprised  at 
the  excesses  of  the  *  flock'  when  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  pastores,  the  padres  themselves,  are 
foremost  in  most  of  the  popular  vices  of  the 
country:  first  at  the  fandango — first  at  the 
gaming  table — first  at  the  cock-pit — first  at 
bacchanalian  orgies — and  by  no  means  last 
in  the  contraction  of  those  liaisons  which  are 
so  emphatically  prohibited  by  their  vows. 

The  baptismal  and  burial  fees  (neither  ol 
which  can  be  avoided  without  incurring  the 
charge  of  heresy)  are  also  a  great  terror  to 
the  candidates  for  married  life.  "  If  I  mar- 
ry,'' says  the  poor  yeoman,  "  my  family  must 
go  unclad  to  baptize  my  children  ;  and  if  any 
of  them  should  die,  we  must  starve  ourselves 
to  pay  the  burial  charges."  The  fee  for  bap- 
tism, it  is  true,  is  not  so  exorbitant,  and  in  ac- 
cordance to  custom,  is  oflen  paid  by  the 
^mdrino  or  sponsor;  but  the  burial  costs  are 
almost  equally  extravagant  with  those  of  mar- 
riage, varying  in  proportion  to  the  age  and 


264  PRIESTLY    EXTORTION. 

circumstances  of  the  deceased.  A  faithful 
Mexican  servant  m  my  employ  at  Chihua- 
hua, once  soHcited  forty  dollars  to  bury  his 
mother.  Upon  my  expressing  some  surprise 
at  the  exorbitancy  of  the  amount,  he  replied — 
"  That  is  what  the  cura  demands,  sir,  and  if  I 
do  not  pay  it  my  poor  mother  will  remain  un- 
buried !"  Thus  this  man  was  obliged  to  sacri- 
fice several  months'  wages,  to  pamper  the 
avarice  of  a  vjcious  and  mercenary  priest. 
On  another  occasion,  a  poor  widow  in  Santa 
Fe,  begged  a  httle  medicine  for  her  sick  child : 
"  Not,"  said  the  disconsolate  mother,  "  that  the 
life  of  the  babe  imports  me  much,  for  I  know 
the  angelito  will  go  directly  to  heaven ;  but 
what  shall  I  do  to  pay  the  priest  for  burying 
it  ?  He  will  take  my  house  and  all  from  me — 
and  I  shall  be  turned  desolate  into  the  street !" 
— rand  so  saying,  she  commenced  weeping 
bitterly. 

Indigent  parents  are  thus  frequently  under 
the  painful  necessity  of  abandoning  and  dis- 
owning their  deceased  children,  to  avoid  the 
responsibUity  of  burial  expenses.  To  this  end 
the  corpse  is  sometimes  deposited  in  some 
niche  or  corner  of  the  church  during  the 
night ;  and  upon  being  found  in  the  morning, 
the  priest  is  bound  to  inter  it  gratis,  unless 
the  parent  can  be  discovered,  in  which  case 
the  latter  would  be  hable  to  severe  castiga- 
tion,  besides  being  bound  to  pay  the  expenses. 

Children  that  have  not  been  baptized  are 
destined,  according  to  the  popular  faith,  to  a 
kind  of  negative  existence  in  the  world  of 


BURIAL    CUSTOMS.  265 

spirits,  called  Limbo,  where  they  remain  for  e  ve r 
without  either  suffering  punishment  or  enjoy- 
ing happiness.  Baptized  infants,  on  the  other 
hand,  being  considered  without  sin,  are  sup- 
posed to  enter  at  once  into  the  joys  of  heaven. 
The  deceased  child  is  then  denominated  an 
angelito  (a  little  angel),  and  is  interred  with 
joy  and  mirth  instead  of  grief  and  wailing. 
It  is  gaudily  bedecked  with  fanciful  attire  and 
ornaments  of  tinsel  and  flowers ;  and  being 
placed  upon  a  small  bier,  it  is  carried  to  the 
grave  by  four  children  as  gaily  dressed  as 
their  circumstances  will  allow ;  accompanied 
by  musicians  using  the  instruments  and  play- 
ing the  tunes  of  the  fandangos;  and  the 
little  procession  is  nothing  but  glee  and  merri- 
ment. 

In  New  Mexico  the  lower  classes  are  very 
rarely,  if  ever,  buried  in  cofiins:  the  corpse 
being  simply  wrapped  in  a  blanket,  or  some 
other  covering,  and  in  that  rude  attire  con- 
signed to  its  last  home.  It  is  truly  shock- 
ing to  a  sensitive  mind  to  witness  the  inhu- 
man treatment  to  which  the  remains  of  the 
dead  are  sometimes  subjected.  There  being 
nothing  to  indicate  the  place  of  the  previous 
graves,  it  not  unfrequently  happens  that  the 
partially  decayed  relics  of  a  corpse  are  dug  up 
and  forced  to  give  place  to  the  more  recently 
deceased,  when  they  are  again  thrown  with 
the  earth  into  the  new  grave  with  perfect  in- 
difference. The  operation  of  filling  up  the 
grave,  especially,  is  particularly  repulsive  ;  the 
earth  being  pounded  down  with  a  large  maul, 

23 


266  INTERMENT    OF    HERETICS. 

as  fast  as  it  is  thrown  in  upon  the  unprotect- 
ed corpse,  with  a  force  sufficient  to  crush  a 
deUcate  frame  to  atoms. 

As  the  remains  of  heretics  are  not  permit- 
ted to  pollute  either  the  church-yard  or  Campo 
Santo ^  those  Americans  who  have  died  in 
Santa  Fe,  have  been  buried  on  a  hill  which 
overlooks  the  town  to  the  northward.  The 
corpses  have  sometimes  been  disinterred  and 
robbed  of  the  shroud  in  which  they  were  en- 
veloped ;  so  that,  on  a  few  occasions,  it  has 
been  deemed  expedient  to  appoint  a  special 
watch  for  the  protection  of  the  grave. 


.■«te!.jn. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

The  Pueblos — Their  Character  for  Sobriety,  Honesty,  and  In- 
dustry— Traditional  Descent  from  Montezuma — Their  Lan- 
guages— Former  and  present  Population — The  Pueblo  of  Pe- 
cos— Singular  Habits  of  that  ill  fated  Tribe — Curious  Tradi- 
tion— Montezuma  and  the  Sim — Legend  of  a  Serpent — Reli- 
gion and  Government — Secret  Council — Laws  and  Customs — 
Excellent  Provisions  against  Demoralization — Primitive  Pas- 
times of  the  Pueblos — Their  Architecture — Singular  Struc- 
tares  of  Taos,  and  other  novel  Fortifications — Primitive  state 
of  the  Arts  among  the  Pueblos — Style  of  Dress,  Weapons, 
etc. — Their  Diet — The  Guayave. 

Allusion  has  so  frequently  been  made  to 
the  aboriginal  tribes  of  New  Mexico,  known 
as  Los  Pueblos^  that  I  think  I  shall  not  be  tres- 
passing too  much  upon  the  patience  of  the 
reader,  in  glancing  rapidly  at  some  of  the  more 
conspicuous  features  of  their  national  habits 
and  character. 

Although  the  term  Pueblo  in  Spanish  lite- 
rally means  the  people,  and  their  towns,  it  is 
here  specifically  applied  to  the  Christianized  In- 
dians (as  well  as  their  villages) — to  those  abo- 
rigines whom  the  Spaniards  not  only  subject- 
ed to  their  laws,  but  to  an  acknowledgment 
of  the  Romish  faith,  and  upon  whom  they 
forced  baptism  and  the  cross  in  exchange  for 


268  PUEBLO    INDIANS. 

the  vast  possessions  of  which  they  robbed 
them.  All  that  was  left  them  was,  to  each 
Pueblo  a  league  or  two  of  land  situated 
around  their  villages,  the  conquerors  reserving 
to  themselves  at  least  ninety-nine  hundredths 
of  the  whole  domain  as  a  requital  for  their 
generosity. 

When  these  regions  were  first  discovered  it 
appears  that  the  inhabitants  lived  in  com- 
fortable houses  and  cultivated  the  soil,  as  they 
have  continued  to  do  up  to  the  present  time. 
Indeed,  they  are  now  considered  the  best  hor- 
ticulturists in  the  country,  furnishing  most  of 
the  fruits  and  a  large  portion  of  the  vegetable 
supplies  that  are  to  be  found  in  the  markets. 
They  were  until  very  lately  the  only  people  in 
New  Mexico  who  cultivated  the  grape.  They 
also  maintain  at  the  present  time  considerable 
herds  of  cattle,  horses,  etc.  They  are,  in  short, 
a  remarkably  sober  and  industrious  race,  con- 
spicuous for  moiahty  and  honesty,  and  very 
little  given  to  quarrelling  or  dissipation,  ex- 
cept when  they  have  had  much  famihar  in- 
tercom'se  with  the  Hispano-Mexican  popula- 
tion. 

Most  of  these  Pueblos  call  themselves  the 
descendants  of  Montezuma,  although  it  would 
appear  that  they  could  only  have  been  made 
acquainted  with  the  history  of  that  monarch, 
by  the  Spaniards ;  as  this  province  is  nearly 
two  thousand  miles  from  the  ancient  Idngdom 
of  Mexico.  At  the  time  of  the  conquest  they 
must  have  been  a  very  powerful  people — 
numbering  near  a  hundred  villages,  as  exist- 


THEIR   I.ANGUAGES.  269 

ing  ruins  would  seem  to  indicate ;  but  they 
are  now  reduced  to  about  twenty,  which  are 
scattered  in  various  parts  of  the  territory. 

There  are  but  three  or  four  different  lan- 
guages spoken  among  them,  and  these,  indeed, 
may  be  distantly  allied  to  each  other.  Those  of 
Taos,  Picuris,  Isleta,  and  perhaps  some  others, 
speak  what  has  been  called  the  Piro  lan- 
guage. A  large  portion  of  the  others,  viz., 
those  of  San  Juan,  Santa  Clara,  Nambe,  Po- 
juaque,  Tezuque,  and  some  others,  speak  Te- 
gua,  having  all  been  originally  known  by  this 
general  name;  and  those  of  Cochiti,  Santo 
Domingo,  San  Felipe,  and  perhaps  Sandia, 
speak  the  same  tongue,  though  they  seem  for- 
merly to  have  been  distinguished  as  Queres. 
The  numerous  tribes  that  inhabited  the  high- 
lands between  Rio  del  Norte  and  Pecos,  as 
those  of  Pecos,  Cienega,  Galisteo,  etc.,  were 
known  anciently  as  Tagnos,  but  these  are 
now  all  extinct ;  yet  their  language  is  said  to 
be  spoken  by  those  of  Jemez  and  others  of 
that  section.     Those  further  to  the  westward^ 

*  Of  these,  the  Pueblo  of  Zurii  has  been  celebrated  for  honesty 
and  hospitality.  The  inhabitants  mostly  profess  the  Catholic  faith, 
but  have  now  no  curate.  They  cultivate  the  soil,  manufacture, 
and  possess  considerable  quantities  of  stock.  Their  village  is 
over  150  miles  west  of  the  Rio  del  Norte,  on  the  waters  of  the 
Colorado  of  the  West,  and  is  believed  to  contain  between  1000  and 
1 500  souls.  The  "  seven  Pueblos  of  Moqui"  {as  they  are  called) 
are  a  similar  tribe  living  a  few  leagues  beyond.  They  formerly 
acknowledged  the  government  and  religion  of  the  Spaniards,  but 
have  long  since  rejected  both,  and  live  in  a  state  of  independence 
and  paganism.  Their  dwellings,  however,  like  those  of  Zuni,  are 
similar  to  those  of  the  interior  Pueblos,  and  they  are  equally  in- 
dustrious and  agricultural,  and  still  more  ingenious  in  their  manu- 
facturing. The  language  of  the  Moquis  or  Moquinos  js  s^d  tp 
differ  but  little  from  that  of  the  Navajoes. 
23* 


270  POPULATION    AKD    DECAY. 

are  perhaps  allied  to  the  Navajoes.  Though 
all  these  Pueblos  speak  their  native  languages 
among  themselves,  a  great  many  of  them  pos- 
sess a  smattering  of  Spanish,  sufficient  to  car- 
ry on  their  intercourse  with  the  Mexicans. 

The  population  of  these  Pueblos  will  ave- 
rage nearly  five  hundred  souls  each  (though 
some  hardly  exceed  one  hundred),  making  an 
aggregate  of  nine  or  ten  thousand.  At  the 
time  of  the  original  conquest,  at  the  close  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  they  were,  as  has  been 
mentioned,  much,  perhaps  ten-fold,  more  nu- 
merous. Ancient  ruins  are  now  to  be  seen 
scattered  in  every  quarter  of  the  territory :  of 
some,  entire  stone  walls  are  yet  standing, 
while  others  are  nearly  or  quite  obliterated, 
many  of  them  bemg  now  only  known  by 
their  names  which  history  or  tradition  has 
preserved  to  us.  Numbers  were  no  doubt 
destroyed  during  the  insurrection  of  1680,  and 
the  petty  internal  strifes  which  followed. 

Several  of  these  Pueblos  have  been  con- 
verted into  Mexican  villages,  of  which  that  of 
Pecos  is  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  in- 
stance. What  with  the  massacres  of  the 
second  conquest,  and  the  inroads  of  the  Co- 
nianches,  they  gradually  dwindled  away,  till 
they  found  themselves  reduced  to  about  a 
dozen,  comprising  all  ages  and  sexes ;  and  it 
was  only  a  few  years  ago  that  they  abandoned 
the  home  of  their  fathers  and  joined  the  Pu- 
eblo of  Jemez. 

Many  curious  tales  are  told  of  the  singular 
habits  of  this  ill-fated  tribe,  which  must  no 


THE    PECOS THEIR    HOLY    FIRE.  271 

doubt  have  tended  to  hasten  its  utter  annihi- 
lation. A  tradition  was  prevalent  among 
them  that  Montezuma  had  kindled  a  holy 
fire,  and  enjoined  their  ancestors  not  to  sutler 
it  to  be  extinguished  until  he  should  return  to 
deliver  his  people  from  the  yoke  of  the  Span- 
iards. In  pursuance  of  these  commands,  a 
constant  watch  had  been  maintained  for  ages 
to  prevent  the  fire  from  going  out;  and,  as 
tradition  further  informed  them,  that  Monte-  ^//^ 
zuma  would  appear  with  the  sun,  the  deluded  // 
Indians  were  to  be  seen  every  clear  morning 
upon  the  terraced  roofs  of  their  houses,  atten- 
tively watching  for  the  appearance  of  the 
*  king  of  light,'  in  hopes  of  seeing  him  '  cheek 
by  jowl'  with  their  immortal  sovereign.  I 
have  myself  descended  into  the  famous  estu- 
fas,  or  subterranean  vaults,  of  which  there 
were  several  in  the  village,  and  have  beheld 
this  consecrated  fire,  silently  smouldering  un- 
der a  covering  of  ashes,  in  the  basin  of  a 
small  altar.  Some  say  that  they  never  lost 
hope  in  the  final  coming  of  Montezuma  un-  • 
til,  by  some  accident  or  other,  or  a  lack  of  a 
sufficiency  of  warriors  to  watch  it,  the  fire 
became  extinguished ;  and  that  it  was  this 
catastrophe  that  induced  them  to  abandon 
their  villages,  as  I  have  before  observed. 

The  task  of  tending  the  sacred  fire  was,  it 
is  said,  allotted  to  the  warriors.  It  is  further 
related,  ihat  they  took  the  watch  by  turns  for 
'  two  successive  days  and  nights,  without  par- 
taking of  either  food,  water,  or  sleep ;  while 
some  assert,  that  instead  of  being  restricted  to 


272  THEIR    BIG    SNAKE. 

two  days,  each  guard  continued  with  the  same 
unbending  severity  of  purpose  until  exhaus- 
tion, and  very  frequently  death,  left  their  places 
to  be  filled  by  others.  A  large  portion  of  those 
who  came  out  alive  were  generally  so  com- 
pletely prostrated  by  the  want  of  repose  and 
the  inhalation  of  carbonic  gas  that  they  very 
soon  died ;  when,  as  the  vulgar  story  asseve- 
rates, their  remains  were  carried  to  the  den 
of  a  monstrous  serpent,  which  kept  itself  in 
excellent  condition  by  feeding  upon  these 
delicacies.  This  huge  snake  (invented  no  doubt 
by  the  lovers  of  the  marvellous  to  account  for 
the  constant  disappearance  of  the  Indians) 
was  represented  as  the  idol  which  they  wor- 
shipped, and  as  subsisting  entirely  upon  the 
flesh  of  his  devotees  :  Uve  infants,  however, 
seemed  to  suit  his  palate  best.  The  story  of 
this  wonderful  serpent  was  so  firmly  believed 
in  by  many  ignorant  people,  that  on  one  oc- 
casion I  heard  an  honest  ranchero  assert,  that 
upon  entering  the  village  very  early  on  a  win- 
ter's morning,  he  saw  the  huge  trail  of  the 
reptile  in  the  snow,  as  large  as  that  of  a  drag- 
ging ox. 

This  village,  anciently  so  renowned,  lies 
twenty-five  miles  ^eastward  of  Santa  Fe,  and 
near  the  Rio  Pecos,  to  which  it  gave  name. 
Even  so  late  as  ten  years  ago,  when  it  con- 
tained a  population  of  fifty  to  a  hundred  souls, 
the  traveller  would  oftentimes  perceive  but  a 
solitary  Lidian,  a  woman,  or  a  child,  standing 
here  and  there  hke  so  many  statues  upon  the 
roofs  of  their  houses,  with  their  eyes  fixed  on 


PUEBLO    GOVERNMENTS.  273 

the  eastern  horizon,  or  leaning  against  a  wall 
or  a  fence,  listlessly  gazing  at  the  passing 
stranger ;  while  at  other  times  not  a  soul  was 
to  be  seen  in  any  direction,  and  the  sepulchral 
silence  of  the  place  was  only  disturbed  by  the 
occasional  barking  of  a  dog,  or  the  cackling 
of  hens. 

No  other  Pueblo  appears  to  have  adopted 
this  extraordinary  superstition:  like  Pecos, 
however,  they  have  all  held  Montezuma  to  be 
their  perpetual  sovereign.  It  would  likewise 
appear  that  they  all  worship  the  sun  ;  for  it  is 
asserted  to  be  their  regular  practice  to  turn 
the  face  towards  the  east  at  sunrise.  They 
profess  the  Catholic  faith,  however,  of  which, 
nevertheless,  they  cannot  be  expected  to  un- 
derstand anything  beyond  the  formalities ;  as 
but  very  few  of  their  Mexican  neighbors  and 
teachers  can  boast  of  more. 

Although  nominally  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  federal  government,  as  Mexican  citi- 
zens, many  features  of  their  ancient  customs 
are  still  retained,  as  well  in  their  civil  rule  as 
in  their  religion.  Each  Pueblo  is  under  the 
control  of  a  cacique  or  gobernadorcillo,  chosen 
from  among  their  own  sages,  and  commis- 
sioned by  the  governor  of  New  Mexico.  The 
cacique,  when  any  public  business  is  to  be 
transacted,  collects  together  the  principal 
chiefs  of  the  Pueblo  in  an  estvfa,  or  cell,  usu- 
ally under  ground,  and  there  lays  before  them 
the  subjects  of  debate,  which  are  generally  set- 
tled by  the  opinion  of  the  majority.  No  Mexi- 
can is  admitted  to  these  councils,  nor  do  the 


274  POLICE   AND  WAR   REGULATIONS. 

subjects  of  discussion  ever  transpire  beyond 
the  precincts  of  the  cavern.  The  council  has 
also  charge  of  the  interior  poUce  and  tranquil- 
hty  of  the  village.  One  of  their  regulations  is 
to  appoint  a  secret  watch  for  the  purpose  of 
keeping  down  disorders  and  vices  of  every 
description,  and  especially  to  keep  an  eye 
over  the  young  men  and  women  of  the  vil- 
lage. When  any  improper  intercourse  among 
them  is  detected,  tlie  parties  are  immediately 
carried  to  the  council,  and  the  cacique  inti- 
mates to  them  that  they  must  be  wedded 
forthwith.  Should  the  girl  be  of  bad  charac- 
ter, and  the  man,  therefore,  unwilUng  to  marry 
her,  they  are  ordered  to  keep  separate  under 
penalty  of  the  lash.  Hence  it  is,  that  the  fe- 
males of  these  Pueblos  are  almost  universally 
noted  for  their  chastity  and  modest  deport- 
ment 

They  also  elect  a  capitan  de  guerra^  a  kind 
of  commander-in-chief  of  the  warriors,  whose 
office  it  is  to  defend  their  homes  and  their  in- 
terests both  in  the  field  and  in  the  council 
chamber.  Though  not  very  warlike,  these 
Pueblos  are  generally  valiant,  and  well  skilled 
in  the  strategies  of  Indian  warfare ;  and  al- 
though they  have  been  branded  with  cruelty 
and  ferocity,  yet  they  can  hardly  be  said  to 
surpass  the  Mexicans  in  this  respect :  both,  in 
times  of  war,  pay  but  little  regard  either  to 
age  or  sex.  I  have  been  told  that  when  the 
Pueblos  .return  from  their  belligerent  expedi- 
tions, instead  of  going  directly  to  their  homes, 
they  always  visit  their  council  cell  first.    Here 


THEIR   AMUSEMENTS.  275 

they  undress,  dance,  and  carouse,  frequently 
for  two  days  in  succession  before  seeing  their 
famihes. 

Although  theJPueblos  are  famous  for  hospi- 
t^Uty  and  industry,  they  still  continue  in  the 
rudest  state  of  ignorance;  having  neither  books 
nor  schools  among  them,  as  none  of  their 
languages  have  been  reduced  to  rules,  and 
very  few  of  their  children  are  ever  taught  in 
Spanish.  A  degree  of  primitiveness  charac- 
terizes all  their  amusements,  which  bear  a 
strong  similarity  to  those  of  the  wilder  tribes. 
Before  the  New  Mexican  government  had  be- 
come so  much  impoverished,  there  was  wont 
to  be  held  in  the  capital  on  the  16th  of  Sep- 
tember of  every  year,  a  national  celebration 
of  the  declaration  of  Independence,  to  which 
the  Pueblos  were  invited.  The  warriors  and 
youths  of  each  nation  with  a  proportionate 
array  of  dusky  damsels  would  appear  on 
these  occasions,  painted  and  ornamented  in 
accordance  with  their  aboriginal  customs,  and 
amuse  the  inhabitants  with  all  sorts  of  gro* 
tesque  feats  and  native  dances.  Each  Pueblo 
generally  had  its  particular  uniform  dress  and 
its  particular  dance.  The  men  of  one  village 
would  sometimes  disguise  themselves  as  elks, 
with  horns  on  their  heads,  moving  on  all- 
fours,  and  mimicking  the  animal  they  were 
attempting  to  personate.  Others  would  ap- 
pear in  the  garb  of  a  turkey,  with  large  heavy 
wings,  and  strut  about  in  imitation  of  that 
bird.  But  the  Pecos  tribe,  aheady  reduced  to 
seven  men,  always  occasioned  most  diversion. 


276  SINGULAR    DWELLINGS 

Their  favorite  exploit  was,  each  to  put  on  the 
skin  of  a  buffalo,  horns,  tail,  and  all,  and  thus 
accoutred  scamper  about  through  the  crowd, 
to  the  real  or  affected  terror  of  all  the  ladies 
present,  and  to  the  great  dehght  of  the  boys. 

The  Pueblo  villages  are  generally  built  with 
more  regularity  than  those  of  the  Mexicans, 
and  are  constructed  of  the  same  materials  as 
were  used  by  them  in  the  most  primitive  ages. 
Their  dwelling-houses,  it  is  true,  are  not  so 
spacious  as  those  of  the  Mexicans,  containing 
very  seldom  more  than  two  or  three  small 
apartments  upon  the  ground  floor,  without 
any  court-yard,  but  they  have  generally  a 
much  loftier  appearance,  being  frequently  two 
stories  high  and  sometimes  more.  A  very 
curious  feature  in  these  buildings,  is,  that  there 
is  most  generally  no  direct  communication 
between  the  street  and  the  lower  rooms,  into 
which  they  descend  by  a  trap-door  from  the 
upper  story,  the  latter  being  accessible  by 
means  of  ladders.  Even  the  entrance  to  the 
upper  stories  is  frequently  at  the  roof  This 
style  of  building  seems  to  have  been  adopted 
for  security  against  their  marauding  neighbors 
of  the  wilder  tribes,  w^ith  whom  they  were 
often  at  war.  When  the  family  had  all  beqn 
housed  at  night,  the  ladder  was  drawn  up, 
and  the  inmates  were  thus  shut  up  in  a  kind 
of  fortress,  which  bid  defiance  to  the  scanty 
implements  of  warfare  used  by  the  wild  In- 
dians. 

Though  this  was  their  most  usual  style  of 
architecture,  there  still  exists  a  Pueblo  of  Taos, 


AND    FORTIFICATIONS.  277 

composed,  for  the  most  part,  of  but  two  edi- 
fices of  very  singular  structure — one  on  each 
side  of  a  creek,  and  formerly  communicating 
by  a  bridge.  The  base-story  is  a  mass  of  near 
four  hundred  feet  long,  a  hundred  and  fifty 
wide,  and  divided  into  numerous  apartments, 
upon  which  other  tiers  of  rooms  are  built,  one 
above  another,  drawn  in  by  regular  grades, 
forming  a  pyramidal  pile  of  fifty  or  sixty  feet 
high,  and  comprising  some  six  or  eight  stories. 
The  outer  rooms  only  seem  to  be  used  for 
dwellings,  and  are  lighted  by  little  windows 
m  the  sides,  but  are  entered  through  trap- 
doors in  the  azoteas  or  roofs.  Most  of  the 
inner  apartments  are  employed  as  granaries 
and  store-rooms,  but  a  spacious  hall  in  the 
centre  of  the  mass,  known  as  the  estufa^  is  re- 
served for  their  secret  councils.  These  two 
buildings  afford  habitations,  as  is  said,  for  over 
six  hundred  souls.  There  is  likewise  an  edi- 
fice in  the  Pueblo  of  Picuris  of  the  same 
class,  and  some  of  those  of  Moqui  are  also 
said  to  be  similar. 

*»♦»  Some  of  these  villages  were  built  upon 
rocky  eminences  deemed  almost  inaccessible : 
witness  for  instance  the  ruins  of  the  ancient 
Pueblo  of  San  Felipe,  which  may  be  seen 
towering  upon  the  very  verge  of  a  precipice 
several  hundred  feet  high,  whose  base  is 
washed  by  the  swift  current  of  the  Rio  del 
Norte.  The  still  existing  Pueblo  of  Acoma 
also  stands  upon  an  isolated  mound  whose 
whole  area  is  occupied  by  the  village,  being 
fringed  all  around  by  a  precipitous  ceja  or  cliff. 

24 


278  NATIVE    MANUFACTURES. 

The  inhabitants  enter  the  village  by  means 
of  ladders,  and  by  steps  cut  into  the  sohd  rock 
upon  which  it  is  based. 

At  the  time  of  the  conquest,  many  of  these 
Pueblos  manufactured  some  singular  textures 
of  cotton  and  other  materials ;  but  with  the 
loss  of  their  hberty,  they  seem  to  have  lost 
most  of  their  arts  and  ingenuity ;  so  that  the 
finer  specimens  of  native  fabrics  are  now  only 
to  be  met  with  among  the  Moquis  and  Nava- 
joes,  who  still  retain  their  independence. 
The  Pueblos,  however,  make  some  of  the 
ordinary  classes  of  blankets  and  tilmas,^  as 
well  as  other  woollen  stuffs.  They  also  man- 
ufacture, according  to  their  aboriginal  art, 
both  for  their  own  consumption,  and  for  the 
purposes  of  traffic,  a  species  of  earthenware 
not  much  inferior  to  the  coarse  crockery  of 
our  common  potters.  The  pots  made  of 
this  material  stand  fire  remarkably  well,  and 
are  the  universal  substitutes  for  all  the  pur- 
poses of  cookery,  even  among  the  Mexicans, 
for  the  iron  castings  of  this  country,  which 
are  utterly  unknown  there.  Rude  as  this  kind 
of  crockery  is,  it  nevertheless  evinces  a  great 
deal  of  skill,  considering  that  it  is  made  entirely 
without  lathe  or  any  kind  of  machinery.  It 
is  often  fancifully  painted  with  colored  earths 
and  the  juice  oi  a  plant  called  guaco,  which 
brightens  by  burning.  They  also  work  a  singu- 
lar kind  of  wicker- ware,  of  which  some  bowls 
(if  they  may  be  so  called)  are  so  closely  plat- 

*  Tlie  tilma  of  the  North  is  a  sort  of  small  but  durable  blanket, 
worn  by  the  Indians  as*  a  mantle. 


PUEBLO    COSTUMES.    "•  279 

ted,  that,  once  swollen  by  dampness,  they 
serve  to  hold  liquids,  and  are  therefore  light 
and  convenient  vessels  for  the  purposes  of 
travellers. 

The  dress  %  many  of  the  Pueblos  has  be- 
come assimilated  in  some  respects  to  that  of 
the  common  Mexicans  ;  but  by  far  the  great- 
est portion  still  retain  most  of  their  aboriginal 
costume.  The  Taosas  and  others  of  the 
north  somewhat  resemble  the  prairie  tribes 
in  this  respect ;  but  the  Pueblos  to  the  south 
and  west  of  Santa  Fe  dress  in  a  different 
style,  which  is  said  to  be  similar  in  many  re- 
spects to  that  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of 
the  city  of  Mexico.  The  moccasin  is  the  only 
part  of  the  prairie  suit  that  appears  common 
to  them  all,  and  of  both  sexes.  They  mostly 
wear  a  kind  of  short  breeches  and  long  stock- 
ings, the  use  of  which  they  most  probably  ac- 
quired from  the  Spaniards.  The  saco,  a  species 
of  woollen  jacket  without  sleeves,  completes 
their  exterior  garment ;  except  during  incle- 
ment seasons,  when  they  make  use  of  the 
tilma.  Very  few  of  them  have  hats  or  head- 
dress of  any  kind;  and  they  generally  wear 
their  hair  long — commonly  fashioned  into  a 
quelle^  wrapped  with  some  colored  stuff.  The 
squaws  of  the  northern  tribes  dress  pretty 
much  like  those  of  the  Prairies  ;  but  the  usual 
costume  of  the  females  of  the  southern  and 
western  Pueblos  is  a  handsome  kind  of  small 
blanket  of  dark  color,  which  is  drawn  under 
one  arm  and  tacked  over  the  other  shoulder, 
leaving  both  arms  free  and  naked.     It  is  gene- 


280  PECULIARITIES    OF    DIET. 

rally  worn  with  a  cotton  chemise  underneath 
and  is  bound  about  the  waist  with  a  girdle. 
We  rarely  if  ever  see  a  thorough-bred  Pueblo 
woman  in  Mexican  dress.  ^ 

The  weapons  most  in  use  among  the  Pue- 
blos are  the  bow  and  arrow,  with  a  long-han- 
dled lance  and  occasionally  a  fusil.  The  raw- 
hide shield  is  also  much  used,  which,  though 
of  but  little  service  against  fire-arms,  serves 
to  ward  off  the  arrow  and  lance. 

The  aliment  of  these  Indians  is,  in  most 
respects,  similar  to  that  of  the  Mexicans ;  in 
fact,  as  has  been  elsewhere  remarked,  the  lat- 
ter adopted  with  their  utensils  numerous  items 
of  aboriginal  diet.  The  tortilla^  the  atole^  the 
pinole,^  and  many  others,  together  with  the 
use  of  chile,  are  from  the  Indians.  Some 
of  the  wilder  tribes  make  a  peculiar  kind  of 
pinole,  by  grinding  the  bean  of  the  mezquite 
tree  into  flour,  which  is  then  used  as  that  of 
corn.  And  besides  the  tortilla  they  make 
another  singular  kind  of  bread,  if  we  may  so 
style  it,  called  guayave,  a  roll  of  which  so  much 
resembles  a  *  hornets'  nest,'  that  by  strangers 
it  is  often  designated  by  this  title.  It  is  usual- 
ly made  of  Indian  corn  prepared  and  ground 
as  for  tortillas,  and  diluted  into  a  thin  paste. 

*  Pinole  is  in  effect  the  cold-flour  of  our  hunters.  It  is  the 
meal  of  parched  Indian  corn,  prepared  for  use  by  stirring  it  up 
with  a  little  cold  water.  This  food  seems  also  to  have  been  of 
ancient  use  among  the  aborigines  of  other  parts  of  America, 
Father  Charlevoix,  in  1721,  says  of  the  savages  about  the  northern 
lakes,  that  they  "  reduce  [the  maize]  to  Flour  which  they  call 
Farine  froide  (cold  Flour),  and  this  is  the  best  Provision  that  can 
oe  made  for  Travellers." 


THE    GUAYAVE.  281 

I  once  happened  to  enter  an  Indian  hut  where 
a  young  girl  of  the  family  was  haking guayaves. 
She  was  sitting  by  a  fire,  over  which  a  large 
flat  stone  was  heating,  with  a  crock  of  pre- 
pared paste  by  her  side.  She  thrust  her  hand 
into  the  paste,  and  then  wiped  it  over  the 
hgated  stone.  What  adhered  to  it  was  in- 
stantly baked  and  peeled  off.  She  repeated 
this  process  at  the  rate  of  a  dozen  times  or 
more  per  minute.  Observing  my  curiosity, 
the  girl  handed  me  one  of  the  '  sheets,'  silent- 
ly ;  for  she  seemed  to  understand  but  her  na- 
tive tongue.  I  found  it  pleasant  enough  to 
the  taste  ;  though  when  cold,  as  I  have  learned 
by  experience,  it  is,  hke  the  cold  tortilla,  rather 
tough  and  insipid.  They  are  even  thinner 
than  wafers ;  and  some  dozens,  being  folded 
in  a  roll,  constitute  the  laminate  composition 
before  mentioned.  Being  thus  preserved, 
they  serve  the  natives  for  months  upon  their 
journeys. 


24* 


CHAPTER  XV. 

The  wild  Tribes  of  New  Mexico — Speculative  Theories — Clavi 
gero  and  the  Azteques — Pueblo  Bonito  and  other  Ruins — Pro- 
bable Relationship  between  the  Azteques  and  tribes  of  New 
Mexico — The  several  Nations  of  this  Province — Navajoes  and 
Azteques — Manufactures  of  the  former — Their  Agriculture, 
Religion,  etc. — Mexican  Cruelty  to  the  Indians  and  its  Conse- 
quences— Inroads  of  the  Navajoes — Exploits  of  a  Mexican 
Army— How  to  make  a  Hole  in  a  Powder-keg — The  Apaches 
and  their  Character — Their  Food — Novel  Mode  of  settling 
Disputes — Range  of  their  marauding  Excursions — Indian 
Traffic  and  imbecile  Treaties — Devastation  of  the  Country — 
Chihuahua  Rodomontades — Juan  Jose,  a  celebrated  Apache 
Chief,  and  his  tragical  End,  etc. — Massacre  of  Americans  in 
Retaliation — A  tragical  Episode — Proyecto  de  Guerra  and  a 
'  gallant'  Display — The  Yutas  and  their  Hostilities-^A  per- 
sonal Adventure  with  them,  but  no  blood  shed — Jicarillas. 

All  the  Indians  of  New  Mexico  not  de- 
nominated Pueblos — not  professing  the  Chris- 
tian religion — are  ranked  as  wild  tribes^  al- 
though these  include  some  who  have  made 
great  advances  in  airts,  manufactures  and  ag- 
riculture. Those  who  are  at  all  acquainted 
with  the  ancient  history  of  Mexico,  will  recol- 
lect that,  according  to  the  traditions  of  the 
aborigines,  all  tlie  principal  tribes  of  Anahuac 
descended  from  the  North :  and  that  those  of 
Mexico,  especially  the  Azteques,  emigrated 


THE   AZTEQUES.  283" 

from  the  north  of  California,  or  northwest  of 
New  Mexico.  Clavigero,  the  famous  histori- 
an heretofore  alkided  to,  speaking  of  this  em- 
igration, observes,  that  the  Azteques,  or  Mexi- 
can Indians,  who  were  the  last  settlers  in  the 
country  of  Anahuac,  lived  until  about  the  year 
1160  of  the  Christian  era  in  Aztlan,  a  country 
situated  to  the  north  of  the  Gulf  of  Califor- 
nia; as  is  inferred  from  the  route  of  their 
peregrinations,  and  from  the  information  after- 
wards acquired  by  the  Spaniards  in  their  ex- 
peditions through  those  countries.  He  then 
proceeds  to  show  by  what  incentives  they 
were  probably  induced  to  abandon  their  na- 
tive land ;  adding  that  whatever  may  have 
been  the  motive,  no  doubt  can  possibly  exist 
as  to  the  journey's  having  actually  been  per- 
formed. He  says  that  they  travelled  in  a 
southeastwardly  direction  towards  the  Rio 
Gila,  where  they  remained  for  some  time — 
the  ruins  of  their  edifices  being  still  to  be  seen, 
upon  its  banks.  They  then  struck  out  for  a 
point  over  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  the 
northwest  of  Chihuahua  in  about  29^  of  N. 
latitude,  where  they  made  another  halt.  This 
place  is  known  by  the  name  of  Casas  Grandes 
(big  houses),  on  account  of  a  large  edifice 
which  still  stands  on  the  spot,  and  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  general  tradition  of  those  re- 
gions, was  erected  by  the  Mexican  Indians, 
during  their  wanderings.  The  building  is 
constructed  after  the  plan  of  those  in  New 
Mexico,  with  three  stories,  covered  with  an 
azotea  or  terrace,  and  without  door  or  entrance 


284  RUINS    OF    PUEBLO    BONITO. 

into  the  lower  story.  A  hand  ladder  is  also 
used  as  a  means  of  communication  with  the 
second  story. 

Even  allowing  that  the  traditions  upon  which 
Clavigero  founded  his  theoretical  deductions 
are  vague  and  uncertain,  there  is  sufficient 
evidence  in  the  rttins  that  still  exist  to  show 
that  those  regions  were  once  inhabited  by  a 
far  more  enlightened  people  than  are  now  to 
be  found  among  the  aborigines.  Of  such 
character  are  the  ruins  of  Pueblo  Bonito,  in 
the  direction  of  Navajo,  on  the  borders  of  tfte 
Cordilleras ;  the  houses  being  generally  built 
of  slabs  of  fine-grit  sand-stone,  a  material  ut- 
terly unknown  in  the  present  architecture  of 
the  North.  Although  some  of  these  structures 
are  very  massive  and  spacious,  they  are  gene- 
rally cut  up  into  small,  irregular  rooms,  many 
of  which  yet  remain  entire,  being  still  cover- 
ed, with  the  vigas  or  joists  remaining  nearly 
sound  under  the  azoteas  of  earth;  and  yet 
their  age  is  such  that  there  is  no  tradition 
which  gives  any  account  of  their  origin.  But 
there  have  been  no  images  or  sculptured 
work  of^  any  kind  found  about  them.  Be- 
sides these,  many  other  ruins  (though  none 
so  perfect)  are  scattered  over  the  plains  and 
among  the  mountains.  What  is  very  remark- 
able is,  that  a  portion  of  them  are  situated  at 
a  great  distance  from  any  water ;  so  that  the 
inhabitants  must  have  depended  entirely  up- 
on rain,  as  is  the  case  with  the  Pueblo  of 
Acoma  at  the  present  day. 

The  general  appearance  of  Pueblo  Bonito, 


WILD    TRIBES NAVAJOES.  285 

as  well  as  that  of  the  existing  buildings  of 
Moqui  in  the  same  mountainous  regions,  and 
other  Pueblos  of  New  Mexico,  resembles  so 
closely  the  ruins  of  Casas  Grandes,  that  we 
naturally  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
founders  of  each  must  have  descended  from 
the  same  common  stock.  The  present  differ- 
ence between  their  language  and  that  of  the 
Indians  of  Mexico,  when  we  take  into  consi- 
deration the  ages  that  have  passed  away  since 
their  separation,  hardly  presents  any  reasona- 
ble objection  to  this  hypothesis. 

The  principal  wild  tribes  which  inhabit  or 
extend  their  incursions  or  peregrinations  upon 
the  territory  of  New  Mexico,  are  the  Navajoes, 
the  Apaches,  the  Yutas,  the  Caiguas  or  Kiawas, 
and  the  Comanches,  Of  the  latter  I  will  speak 
in  another  place.  The  two  first  are  from  one 
and  the  same  original  stock,  there  being,  even 
at  the  present  day,  no  very  important  differ- 
ence in  their  language.  The  Apaches  are 
divided  into  numerous  petty  tribes,  of  one  of 
which  an  insignificant  band,  called  Jicarillas, 
inhabiting  the  mountains  north  of  Taos,  is  an 
isolated  and  miserable  remnant. 

The  Navajues  are  supposed  to  number  about 
10,000  souls,  and  though  not  the  most  nume- 
rous, they  are  certainly  the  most  important,  at 
least  in  a  historical  point  gf  view,  of  all  the 
northern  tribes  of  Mexico.  They  reside  in 
the  main  range  of  Cordilleras,  150  to  200 
miles  west  of  Santa  Fe,  on  the  waters  of  Eio 
Colorado  of  California,  not  far  from  the  re- 
gion, according  to  historians,  from  whence  the 


286 

Azteques  emigrated  to  Mexico ;  and  there  are 
many  reasons   to  suppose    them   direct .  de- 

^    scendants  from  the  remnant,  which  remained 
//  in  the  North,  of  this  celebrated  nation  of  an- 

^  tiquity.  Although  they  mostly  live  in  rude 
jacales,  somewhat  resembling  the  wigwams 
of  the  Pawnees,  yet,  from  time  immemorial, 
they  have  excelled  all  others  in  their  original 
manufactures :  and,  as  well  as  the  Moquis, 
they  are  still  distinguished  for  some  exquisite 
styles  of  cotton  textures,  and  display  consi- 
derable ingenuity  in  embroidering  with  fea- 
thers the  skins  of  animals,  according  to  their 
primitive  practice.  They  now  also  manufac- 
ture a  singular  species  of  blanket,  known  as 
the  Sarape  Navajo^  which  is  of  so  close  and 
dense  a  texture  that  it  will  frequently  hold 
water  almost  equal  to  gum-elastic  cloth.  It 
is  therefore  highly  prized  for  protection  against 
'  the  rains.  Some  of  the  finer  qualities  are 
often  sold  among  the  Mexicans  as  high  as 
fifty  or  sixty  dollars  each. 

Notwithstanding  the  present  predatory  and 
somewhat  unsettled  habits  of  the  Navajoes, 
they  cultivate  all  the  different  grains  and  ve- 
getables to  be  found  in  New  Mexico.  They 
also  possess  extensive  herds  of  horses,  mules, 
cattle,  sheep  and  goats  of  their  own  raising, 
which  are  generally  celebrated  as  being  much 
superior  to  those  of  the  Mexicans ;  owing,  no 
d(fubt,  to  greater  attention  to  the  i^iiprovement 
of  their  stocks. 

Though  Baron  Humboldt  tells  us  that  some 
missionaries  were  established  among  this  tribe 


TREACHEROUS    CRUELTY.  287 

prior  to  the  general  massacre  of  1680,  but  few 
attempts  to  christianize  them  have  since  been 
made.  They  now  remain  in  a  state  of  primi- 
tive paganism — and  not  only  independent  of 
the  Mexicans,  but  their  most  formidable  ene- 
mies. 

After  the  establishment  of  the  national  in- 
dependence, the  government  of  New  Mexico 
greatly  embittered  the  disposition  of  the  neigh- 
boring savages,  especially  the  Navajoes,  by 
repeated  acts  of  cruelty  and  ill-faith  well  cal- 
culated to  provoke  hostilities.  On  one  occa- 
sion, a  party  consisting  of  several  chiefs  and 
warriors  of  the  Navajoes  assembled  at  the 
Pueblo  of  Cochiti,  by  invitation  of  the  gov- 
ernment, to  celebrate  a  treaty  of  peace ;  when 
the  New  Mexicans,  exasperated  no  doubt  by 
the  remembrance  of  former  outrages,  fell  up- 
on them  unawares  and  put  them  all  to  death. 
It  is  also  related,  that  about  the  same  period, 
three  Indians  from  the  northern  mountains 
having  been  brought  as  prisoners  into  Taos, 
they  were  peremptorily  demanded  by  the  Ji- 
carillas,  who  were  their  bitterest  enemies; 
when  the  Mexican  authorities,  dreading  the 
resentment  of  this  tribe,  quietly  complied  with 
the  barbarous  request,  suffering  the  prisoners 
to  be  butchered  in  cold  blood  before  their 
very  eyes !  No  wonder,  then,  that  the  New 
Mexicans  are  so  generally  warred  upon  by 
their  savage  neighbors. 

About  fifteen  years  ago,  the  Navajoes  were 
subjected  by  the  energy  of  Col.  Vizcarra,  who 
succeeded  in  keeping  them  in  submission  for 


288  A    CAMPAIGN    OF    VOLUNTEERS?. 

some  time ;  but  since  that  officer's  departure 
from  New  Mexico,  no  man  has  been  found  of 
sufficient  capacity  to  inspire  this  daring  tribe 
either  with  respect  or  fear ;  so  that  for  the  last 
ten  years  they  have  ravaged  the  country  with 
impunity,  murdering  and  destroying  just  as 
the  humor  happened  to  prompt  them.  When 
the  spring  of  the  year  approaches,  terms  of 
peace  are  generally  proposed  to  the  govern- 
ment at  Santa  Fe,  which  the  latter  never  fails 
to  accept.  This  amicable  arrangement  ena- 
bles the  wily  Indians  to  sow  their  crops  at 
leisure,  and  to  dispose  of  the  property  stolen 
from  the  Mexicans  during  their  marauding 
incursions,  to  advantage ;  but  the  close  of 
their  agricultural  labors  is  generally  followed 
by  a  renewal  of  hostilities,  and  the  game  of 
rapine  and  destruction  is  played  over  again. 

Towards  the  close  of  1835,  a  volunteer  corps, 
which  most  of  the  leading  men  in  New  Mexi- 
co joined,  was  raised  for  the  purpose  of  car- 
rying war  into  the  territory  of  the  Navajoes. 
The  latter  hearing  of  their  approach,  and 
anxious  no  doubt  to  save  them  the  trouble  of 
so  long  a  journey,  mustered  a  select  band  of 
their  warriors,  who  went  forth  to  intercept  the 
invaders  in  a  mountain  pass,  where  they  lay 
concealed  in  an  ambuscade.  The  vahant 
corps,  utterly  unconscious  of  the  reception 
that  awaited  them,  soon  came  jogging  along 
in  scattered  groups,  indulging  in  every  kind 
of  boisterous  mirth';  when  the  war-whoop, 
loud  and  shrill,  followed  by  several  shots, 
threw  them  all  into  a  state  of  speechless  con- 


A    POWDER-KEG    ADVENTURE.  289 

sternation.  Some  tumbled  off  their  horses 
with  fright,  others  fired  their  muskets  at  ran- 
dom :  a  terrific  panic  had  seized  everybody, 
and  some  minutes  elapsed  before  they  could 
recover  their  senses  sufficiently  to  betake 
themselves  to  their  heels.  Two  or  three  per- 
sons were  killed  in  this  ridiculous  engage- 
ment, the  most  conspicuous  of  whom  was  a 
Capt.  Hinofos,  who  commanded  the  regular 
troops. 

A  very  curious  but  fully  authentic  anecdote 
may  not  be  inappropriately  inserted  here,  in 
which  this  individual  was  concerned.  On  one 
occasion,  being  about  to  start  on  a  belligerent 
expedition,  he  directed  his  orderly-sergeant  to 
fill  a  powder-flask  from  an  unbroached  keg 
of  twenty^five  pounds.  The  sergeant,  having 
bored  a  hole  with  a  gimlet,  and  finding  that 
the  powder  issued  too  slowly,  began  to  look 
about  for  something  to  enlarge  the  aperture, 
when  his  eyes  haply  fell  upon  an  iron  po- 
ker which  lay  in  a  corner  of  the  fire-place. 
To  heat  the  poker  and  apply  it  to  the  hole  in 
the  keg  was  the  work  of  but  a  few  moments; 
when  an  explosion  took  place  which  blew 
the  upper  part  of  the  building  into  the  street, 
tearing  and  shattering  everything  else  to 
atoms.  Miraculous  as  their  escape  may  ap- 
pear, the  sergeant,  as  well  as  the  captain  who 
witnessed  the  whole  operation,  remained  more 
frightened  than  hurt,  although  they  were  both 
very  severely  scorched  and  bruised.  This 
ingenious  sergeant  was  afterwards  Secretary 
of  State  to  Gov.  Gonzalez,  of  revolutionary 

25 


290  THE    APACHES. 

memory,  and  has  nearly  ever  since  held  a 
clerkship  in  some  of  the  offices  of  state,  but 
is  now  captain  in  the  regular  army. 

I  come  now  to  speak  of  the  Apaches^  the 
most  extensive  and  powerful,  yet  the  most 
vagrant  of  aU  the  savage  nations  that  inhabit 
the  interior  of  Northern  Mexico.  They  are 
supposed  to  number  some  fifteen  thousand 
souls,  although  they  are  subdivided  into  va- 
rious petty  bands,  and  scattered  over  an  im- 
mense tract  of  country.  Those  that  are  found 
east  of  the  Rio  del  Norte  are  generally  known 
as  Mezcale?'os,  on  account  of  an  article  of  food 
much  in  use  among  them,  called  rrtezcal;^ 
but  by  far  the  greatest  portion  of  the  nation  is 
located  in  the  west,  and  is  mostly  known  by 
the  sobriquet  of  Coyoteros^  in  consequence,  it 
is  said,  of  their  eating  the  coyote  or  prairie- 
wolf  The  Apaches  are  perhaps  more  given 
to  itinerant  habits  than  any  other  tribe  in 
Mexico.  They  never  construct  houses,  but 
live  in  the  ordinary  wigwam,  or  tent  of  skins 
and  blankets.  They  manufacture  nothing — 
cultivate  nothing :  they  seldom  resort  to  the 
chase,  as  their  country  is  destitute  of  game — 
but  depend  almost  entirely  upon  pillage  for 
the  support  of  their  immense  population,  some 
two  or  three  thousand  of  which  are  warriors. 

For  their  food,  the  Apaches  rely  chiefly  upon 
the  flesh  of  the  cattle  and  sheep  they  can  steal 
from  the  Mexican  ranchos  and  haciendas. 
They  are  said,  however,  to  be  more  fond  of 

*  Mezcal  is  the  baked  root  of  the  maguey  {agave  American€i) 
and  of  another  somewhat  similar  plant. 


SUMMARY    EXECUTIONS.  291 

the  meat  of  the  mule  than  that  of  any  other 
animal.  I  have  seen  about  encampments 
which  they  had  recently  left,  the  remains  of 
nmles  that  had  been  slaughtered  for  their  con- 
sumption. Yet  on  one  occasion  I  saw  their 
whole  trail,  for  many  miles,  literally  strewed 
with  the  carcasses  of  these  animals,  which,  it 
was  evident,  had  not  been  killed  for  this  pur- 
pose. It  is  the  practice  of  the  Apache  chiefs, 
as  I  have  understood,  whenever  a  dispute 
arises  betwixt  their  warriors  relative  to  the 
ownership  of  any  particular  animal,  to  kill  the 
brute  at  once,  though  it  be  the  most  valuable 
of  the  drove;  and  so  check  all  further  cavil. 
It  was  to  be  inferred  from  the  number  of  dead 
mules  they  left  behind  them,  that  the  most 
harmonious  relations  could  not  have  existed 
between  the  members  of  the  tribe,  at  least 
during  this  period  of  their  journeyings.  Like 
most  of  the  savage  tribes  of  North  America, 
the  Apaches  are  passionately  fond  of  spirituous 
liquors,  and  may  frequently  be  seen,  in  times 
of  peace,  lounging  about  the  Mexican  villages, 
in  a  state  of  helpless  inebriety. 

The  range  of  this  marauding  tribe  extends 
over  some  portions  of  California,  most  of 
Sonora,  the  frontiers  of  Durango,  and  at  cer- 
tain seasons  it  even  reaches  Coahuila :  Chi- 
huahua, however,  has  been  the  mournful 
theatre  of  their  most  constant  depredations. 
Every  nook  and  corner  of  this  once  flourish- 
ing state  has  been  subjected  to  their  inroads. 
Such  is  the  imbecility  of  the  local  govern- 
ments, that  the  savages,  tn  order  to  dispose  of 


292  TRUCES    FOR    TRADING. 

their  stolen  property  without  even  a  shadow 
of  molestation,  frequently  enter  into  partial 
treaties  of  peace  with  one  department,  while 
they  continue  to  wage  a  war  of  extermination 
against  the  neighboring  states.  This  arrange- 
ment supplies  them  with  an  ever-ready  mar- 
ket, for  the  disposal  of  their  booty  and  the 
purchase  of  munitions  wherewith  to  prose- 
cute their  work  of  destruction.  In  1840,  I 
r ,  witnessed  the  departure  from  Santa  Fe  of  a 
ft  large  trading  party  freighted  with  engines  of 
war  and  a  great  quantity  of  whiskey,  intend- 
ed for  the  Apaches  in  exchange  for  mules  and 
other  articles  of  plunder  which  they  had  stolen 
from  the  people  of  the  south.  This  traffic 
was  not  only  tolerated  but  openly  encouraged 
by  the  civil  authorities,  as  the  highest  pubhc 
functionaries  were  interested  in  its  success — 
the  governor  himself  not  excepted. 

The  Apaches,  now  and  then,  propose  a 
truce  to  the  government  of  Chihuahua,  which 
is  generally  accepted  very  nearly  upon  their 
own  terms.  It  has  on  some  occasions  been 
included  that  the  marauders  should  have  a 
bond  fide  right  to  all  their  stolen  property."  A 
venta  or  quit-claim  brand,  has  actually  been 
marked  by  the  government  upon  large  num- 
bers of  mules  and  horses  which  the  Indians 
had  robbed  from  the  citizens.  It  is  hardly 
necessary  to  add  that  these  truces  have  rarely  . 
been  observed  bv  the  wily  savages  longer  than 
the  time  necessary  for  the  disposalof  their  plun- 
der. As  soon  as  more  mules  were  needed  for 
service  or  for  traffic — ^more  cattle  for  beef — more 


CHIHUAHUA    CAMPAIGNS.  293 

scalps  for  the  war-dance — they  would  invaria- 
bly return  to  their  deeds  of  ravage  and  murder. 
The  depredations  of  the  Apaches  have  been 
of  such  long  duration,  that,  beyond  the  imme- 
diate purlieus  of  the  towns,  the  whole  coun- 
try from  New  Mexico  to  the  borders  of  Du- 
rango  is  almost  entirely  depopulated.  The 
haciendas  and  ranches  have  been  mostly 
abandoned,  and  the  people  chiefly  confined 
to  towns  and  cities.  To  such  a  pitch  has  the 
temerity  of  those  savages  reached,  that  small 
bands  of  three  or  four  warriors  have  been 
known  to  make  their  appearance  within  a 
mile  of  the  city  of  Chihuahua  in  open  day, 
killing  the  laborers  and  driving  off  whole  herds 
of  mules  and  horses  without  the  shghtest  op- 
position. Occasionally  a  detachment  of  troops- 
is  sent  in  pursuit  of  the  marauders,  but  for  no 
other  purpose,  it  would  seem,  than  to  illustrate 
the  imbecility  of  the  former,  as  they  are  al- 
ways sure  to  make  a  precipitate  retreat,  gene- 
rally without  even  obtaining  a  gUmpse  of  the 
enemy.^  And  yet  the  columns  of  a  little 
weekly  sheet  published  in  Chihuahua  always 
teem  with  flaming  accounts  of  prodigious 
feats  of  valor  performed  by  the  '  army  of  ope- 
rations' against  los  bdrbaros:  showing  how 
"the  enemy  was  pursued  with  all  possible 
vigor" — how  the  soldiers  "  displayed  the  great- 

•  It  has  been  credibly  asserted,  that,  during  one  of  these  '  bold 
pursuits,'  a  band  of  Comanches  stopped  in  the  suburbs  of  a  village 
on  Rio  Conchos,  turned  their  horses  into  the  wheat-fields,  and  took 
a  comfortable  szesto— -desirous,  it  seemed,  to  behold  their  pursuers 
face  to  face ;  yet,  after  remaining  most  of  the  day,  they  departed 
without  enjoying  that  pleasure. 
25* 


294  VALIANT    FANFARONADES. 

est  bravery,  and  the  most  unrestrainable  de- 
sire to  overhaul  the  dastards,"  and  by  what 
extraordinary  combinations  of  adverse  cir- 
cumstances they  were  "  compelled  to  relin- 
quish the  pursuit."  Indeed,  it  would  be  diffi-* 
cult  to  find  a  braver  race  of  people  than  the 
ChihuahueTws^  contrive  to  make  themselves 
appear  upon  paper.  When  intelligence  was 
received  in  Chihuahua  of  the  famous  skirmish 
with  the  French,  at  Vera  Cruz,  in  which  Santa 
Anna  acquired  the  glory  of  losing  a  leg,  the 
event  was  celebrated  with  uproarious  demon- 
strations of  joy  ;  and  the  next  number  of  the 
Noticioso^  contained  a  vahant  fanfaronade, 
proclaiming  to  the  world  the  astounding  fact, 
that  one  Mexican  was  worth  four  French  sol- 
diers in  battle  :  winding  up  with  a  "Cancion 
Patrioticar  of  which  the  following  exquisite 
verse  was  the  refrain : 

"  Chihuahuenses^  la  P atria  gloriosa 
Otro  timbre  a  su  lustre  ha  anadido  ; 
Pues  la  lUAio;^,  p  f)^li^  mpoui^qp 
Al  valor  mexicano  ha  cedido*^ 

Literally  translated : 

Chihuahuenses  !  our  glorious  country 
Another  ray  has  added  to  her  lustre  ; 
For  the  invincible^  indomitable  Gallia 
Has  succumbed  to  Mexican  valor. 

By  the  inverted  letters  of  "  invicta,  la  Galia 
indomable,^^  in  the  third  line,  the  poet  gives 

*  Or  Chihuahuenses y  citizens  of  Chihuahua. 

t  Noticioso  de  Chihuahua  of  December  28,  1838. 


JUAN   JOSE,    THE    APACHE    CHIEF.  295 

the  world  to  understand  that  the  kingdom  of 
the  Gauls  had  at  length  been  whirled  topsy- 
turvy, by  the  glorious  achievements  of  el  valor 
Mexicano  ! 

From  what  has  been  said  of  the  ravages  of 
the  Apaches,  one  would  be  apt  to  beheve  them 
an  exceedingly  brave  people ;  but  the  Mexi- 
cans themselves  call  them  cowards  when 
compared  with  the  Comanches ;  and  we  are 
wont  to  look  upon  the  latter  as  perfect  speci- 
mens of  poltroonery  when  brought  in  conflict 
with  the  Shawnees,  Delawares,  and  the  rest 
of  our  border  tribes. 

There  was  once  a  celebrated  chief  called 
Juan  Jose  at  the  head  of  this  tribe,  whose  ex- 
treme cunning  and  audacity  caused  his  name 
to  be  dreaded  throughout  the  country.  What 
contributed  more  than  anything  else  to  render 
him  a  dangerous  enemy,  was  the  fact  of  his 
having  received  a  liberal  education  at  Chi- 
huahua, which  enabled  him,  when  he  after- 
wards rejoined  his  tribe,  to  outwit  his  pursuers, 
and,  by  robbing  the  mails,  to  acquhe  timely 
information  of  every  expedition  that  was  set 
on  foot  against  him.  The  following  account 
of  the  massacre  in  which  he  fell  may  not  be 
altogether  uninteresting  to  the  reader. 

The  government  of  Sonora,  desirous  to 
make  some  efforts  to  check  the  depredations 
of  the  Apaches,  issued  a  proclamation,  giving 
a  sort  of  carte  hlanche  patent  of  ^  marque  and 
reprisal,'  and  declaring  all  the  booty  that  might 
be  taken  from  the  saA^ages  to  be  the  rightful 
property  of  the  captors.     Accordingly,  in  the 


296  A    TRAGICAL    AFFAIR 

spring  of  1837,  a  party  of  some  20  men  com- 
posed chiefly  of  foreigners,  spurred  on  by  the 
love  of  gain,  and  never  doubting  but  the  In- 
dians, after  so  many  years  of  successful  rob- 
beriv^s,  must  be  possessed  of  a  vast  amount 
of  property,  set  out  with  an  American  as 
their  commander,  who  had  long  resided  in 
the  country.  In  a  few  days  they  reached 
a  rancheria  of  about  fifty  warriors  with  their 
famihes,  among  whom  was  the  famous  Juan 
Jose  himself,  and  three  other  principal  chiefs. 
On  seeing  the  Americans  advance,  the  former 
at  once  gave  them  to  understand,  that,  if  they 
had  come  to  fight,  they  were  ready  to  ac- 
commodate them;  but  on  being  assured  by  the 
leader,  that  they  were  merely  bent  on  a  trad- 
ing expedition,  a  friendly  interview  was  im- 
mediately established  between  the  parties. 
The  American  captain  having  determined  to 
put  these  obnoxious  chiefs  to  death  under  any 
circumstances,  soon  caused  a  little  field-piece 
which  had  been  concealed  from  the  Indians 
to  be  loaded  with  chain  and  canister  shot,  and 
to  be  held  in  readiness  for  use.  The  warriors 
were  then  invited  to  the  camp  to  receive  a 
present  of  flour,-  which  was  placed  within 
range  of  the  cannon.  While  they  were  oc- 
cupied in  dividing  the  contents  of  the  bag, 
they  were  fired  upon  and  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  their  party  killed  on  the  spot !  The 
remainder  were  then  attacked  with  small 
arms,  and  about  twenty  slain,  including  Juan 
Jose  and  the  other  chiefs.  Those  who  esca})ed 
became  afterwards  their  own  avengers  in  a 


AND    ITS    CONSEQUENCES.  297 

manner  which  proved  terribly  disastrous  to 
another  party  of  Americans,  who  happened  at 
the  time  to  be  trapping  on  Rio  Gila  not  far 
distant  The  enraged  savages  resolved  to  take 
summary  vengeance  upon  these  unfortunate 
trappers ;  and  falhng  upon  them,  massacred 
them  every  one  !  They  were  in  all,  including 
several  Mexicans,  about  fifteen  in  number.^ 

The  projector  of  this  scheme  had  probably 
been  under  the  impression  that  treachery  was 
justifiable  against  a  treacherous  enemy.  He 
also  believed,  no  doubt,  that  the  act  would  be 
highly  commended  by  the  Mexicans  who  had 
suffered  so  much  from  the  depredations  of 
these  notorious  chiefs.  But  in  this  he  was 
sadly  mistaken;  for  the  affair  was  received 
with  general  reprehension,  although  the  Mexi- 
cans had  been  guilty  of  similar  deeds  them- 
selves, as  the  following  brief  episode  will 
suflaciently  show. 

In  the  summer  of  1839,  a  few  Apache  pri- 
soners, among  whom  was  the  wife  of  a  distin- 

*  The  Apaches,  previous  to  this  date,  had  committed  hut  few 
depredations  upon  foreigners — restrained  either  by  fear  or  respect. 
Small  parties  of  the  latter  were  permitted  to  pass  the  highways  of 
the  wilderness  unmolested,  while  large  caravans  of  Mexicans  suf- 
fered frequent  attacks.  This  apparent  partiality  produced  unfound- 
ed jealousies,  and  the  Americans  were  openly  accused  of  holding 
secret  treaties  with  the  enemy,  and  even  of  supplying  them  with 
arms  and  ammunition.  Although  an  occasional  foreigner  en- 
gaged in  this  clandestine  and  culpable  traffic,  yet  the  natives 
themselves  embarked  in  it  beyond  comparison  more  extensively,  as 
has  been  noted  in  another  place.  This  unjust  impression  against 
Americans  was  partially  effaced  as  well  by  the  catastrophes  men- 
tioned in  the  text,  as  by  the  defeat  and  robbery  (in  which,  how- 
ever, no  American  lives  were  lost),  of  a  small  party  of  our  people, 
about  the  same  period,  in  La  Jornada  del.  MuertOt  on  their  way 
from  Chihuahua  to  Santa  F^. 


298  A    SAVAGE    MASSACRE. 

guished  chief!  were  confined  in  the  calabozo 
of  Paso  del  Norte.  The  bereaved  chief,  hear- 
ing of  their  captivity,  collected  a  band  of  about 
sixty  warriors,  and,  boldly  entering  the  town, 
demanded  the  release  of  his  consort  and 
friends.  The  commandant  of  the  place  \vish- 
ing  to  gain  time,  desired  them  to  return  the 
next  morning,  when  their  request  would  be 
granted.  During  the  night  the  forces  of  the 
country  were  concentrated ;  notwithstanding, 
when  the  Apaches  reappeared,  the  troops  did 
not  show  their  faces,  but  remained  concealed, 
while  the  Mexican  commandant  strove  to  be- 
guile the  Indians  into  the  prison,  under  pre- 
tence of  deUvering  to  them  their  friends.  The 
unsuspecting  chief  and  twenty  others  were 
entrapped  in  this  manner,  and  treacherously 
dispatched  in  cold  blood :  not,  however,  with- 
out some  loss  to  the  Mexicans,  who  had  four 
or  five  of  their  men  killed  in  the  fracas. 
Among  these  was  the  commandant  himself, 
who  had  no  sooner  given  the  word,  ''  ;Mat€n  a 
los  6ara;*05.'"  (kill  the  scoundrels!)  than  the 
chief  retorted,  "/  Entonces  moriras  tu  primero, 
carajo  .'"  (then  you  shall  die  first,  carajo  !)  and 
immediately  stabbed  him  to  the  heart ! 

But  as  New  Mexico  is  more  remote  from 
the  usual  haunts  of  the  Apaches,  and,  in  fact,  as 
her  scanty  ranches  present  a  much  less  fruitful 
field  for  their  operations  than  the  abundant 
haciendas  of  the  South,  the  depredations  of 
this  tribe  have  extended  but  little  upon  that 
province.  The  only  serious  incursion  that  has 
come  within  my  knowledge,  was  some  ten 


PROYECTO    DE    GUERRA.  d&99 

years  ago.  A  band  of  Apache  warriors  boldly 
approached  the  town  of  Socorro  on  the  south- 
ern border,  when  a  battle  ensued  between 
them  and  the  Mexican  force,  composed  of  a 
company  of  regular  troops  and  all  the  mihtia 
of  the  place.  The  Mexicans  were  soon  com- 
pletely routed  and  chased  into  the  very  streets, 
Buffering  a  loss  of  thirty-three  killed  and  seve- 
ral wounded.  The  savages  bore  away  their 
slain,  yet  their  loss  was  supposed  to  be  but 
six  or  seven.  I  happened  to  be  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  catastrophe  the  following  day,  when 
the  utmost  consternation  prevailed  among  the 
inhabitants,  who  were  in  hourly  expectation 
of  another  descent  from  the  savages. 

Many  schemes  have  been  devised  from 
time  to  time,  particularly  by  the  people  of  Chi- 
huahua, to  check  the  ravages  of  the  Indians, 
but  generally  without  success.  Among  these 
the  notorious  Proyecto  de  Gtieira,  adopted  in 
1837,  stands  most  conspicuous.  By  this  fa-^ 
mous  'war-projecf  a  scale  of  rewards  was 
established,  to  be  paid  out  of  a  fund  raised  for 
that  purpose.  A  hundred  dollars  reward  were 
offered  for  the  scalp  of  a  full  grown  man, 
fifty  for  that  of  a  squaw,  and  twenty-five  for 
that  of  every  papoose  !  To  the  credit  of  the  re- 
public, however,  this  barbarous  proyecto  was 
in  operation  but  a  few  weeks,  and  never  re- 
ceived the  sanction  of  the  general  govern- 
ment ;  although  it  was  strongly  advocated  by- 
some  of  the  most  intelligent  citizens  of  Chi- 
huahua. Yet,  pending  its  existence,  it  was 
rigidly  comphed  with.     I  saw  myself,  on  one 


300  THE   YUTA   INDIANS. 

occasion,  a  detachment  of  horsemen  approach 
the  Palacio  in  Chihuahua,  preceded  by  their 
commanding  officer,  who  bore  a  fresh  scalp 
upon  the  tip  of  his  lance,  which  he  waved 
high  in  the  air  in  exultation  of  his  exploit ! 
The  next  number  of  our  little  newspaper  con- 
tained the  official  report  of  the  affair.  The 
soldiers  were  pursuing  a  band  of  Apaches, 
when  they  discovered  a  squaw  who  had  lag- 
ged far  behind  in  her  endeavors  to  bear  away 
her  infant  babe.  They  dispatched  the  mother 
without  commiseration  and  took  her  scalp, 
which  was  the  one  so  '  gallantly'  displayed  as 
already  mentioned!  The  officer  concluded 
his  report  by  adding,  that  the  child  had  died 
not  long  after  it  was  made  prisoner. 

The  Yutas  (or  JEutaws,  as  they  are  generally 
styled  by  Americans)  are  one  of  the  most  ex- 
tensive nations  of  the  West,  being  scattered 
from  the  north  of  New  Mexico  to  the  borders 
of  Snake  river  and  Rio  Colorado,  and  num- 
bering at  least  ten  thousand  souls.  The  ha-  . 
bits  of  the  tribe  are  altogether  itinerant.  A 
band  of  about  a  thousand  spend  their  winters 
mostly  in  the  mountain  valleys  northward  of 
Taos,  and  the  summer  season  generally  in 
the  prairie  plains  to  the  east,  hunting  buffalo. 
The  vernacular  language  of  the  Yutas  is  said 
to  be  distantly  allied  to  that  of  the  Navajoes, 
but  it  has  appeared  to  me  much  more  guttu- 
ral, having  a  deep  sepulchral  sound  resem- 
bling ventriloquism.  Although  these  Indians 
are  nominally  at  peace  with  the  New  Mexi- 
can* government,  they  do  not  hesitate  to  lay 


RENCONTRE    WITH    THE    INDIANS.  301 

the  hunters  and  traders  who  happen  to  fall  in 
with  their  scouring  parties  under  severe  con- 
tributions; and  on  some  occasions  they  have 
been  known  to  proceed  even  to  personal  vio- 
lence. A  prominent  Mexican  officer^  was 
Scourged  not  long  ago  by  a  party  of  Yutas, 
and  yet  the  government  has  never  dared  to 
resent  the  outrage.  Their  hostiUties,  how- 
ever, have  not  been  confined  to  Mexican 
traders,  as  will  be  perceived  by  the  sequel.  « 
^  In  the  summer  of  1837,  a  small  party  of 
but  five  or  six  Shawnees  fell  in  with  a  large 
band  of  Yutas  near  the  eastern  borders  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  south  of  Arkansas  river. 
At  first  they  were  received  with  every  demon- 
stration of  friendship ;  but  the  Yutas,  embold- 
ened no  doubt  by  the  small  number  of  their 
visitors,  very  soon  concluded  to  relieve  them 
of  whatever  surplus  property  they  might  be 
possessed  of  The  Shawnees,  however,  much 
to  the  astonishment  of  the  marauders,  instead 
of  quietly  surrendering  their  goods  and  chat- 
tels, offered  to  defend  them ;  upon  which  a 
skirmish  ensued  that  actually  cost  the  Yutas 
several  of  their  men,  including  a  favorite  chief; 
while  the  Shawnees  made  their  escape  un- 
hurt toward  their  eastern  homes. 

A  few  days  after  this  event,  and  while  the 
Yutas  were  still  bewailing  the  loss  of  their 
people,  I  happened  to  pass  near  their  ranclie- 
Has  (temporary  village)  with  a  small  caravan 
which  mustered  about  thirty-five  men.     We 

*  Don  Juan  Andres  Archuleta,  who  commanded  at  the  capture  of 
Gen.  McLeod'3  division  of  the  Texans. 
26 


302  A    DECLARATION    OF    WAR. 

had  hardly  pitched  our  camp,  when  they  be- 
gan to  flock  about  us — men,  squaws,  and 
papooses — in  great  numbers  ;  but  the  warri- 
ors were  sullen  and  reserved,  only  now  and 
then  muttering  a  curse  upon  the  Americans 
on  account  of  the  treatment  they  had  just  re- 
ceived from  the  Shawnees,  whom  they  consi- 
dered as  half-castes,  and  our  allies.  All  of  a  sud- 
den, a  young  waraor  seized  a  splendid  steed 
which  belonged  to  our  party,  and,  leaping  up- 
on his  back,  galloped  off  at  full  speed.  Be- 
ing fully  convinced  that,by  acquiescing  in  this 
outrage,  we  should  only  encourage  them  to 
commit  others,  we  resolved  at  once  to  make 
a  peremptory  demand  for  the  stolen  horse  of 
their  principal  chief  Our  request  being  treat- 
ed with  contumely,  we  sent  in  a  warhke  de- 
claration, and  forthwith  commenced  making 
preparations  for  descending  upon  the  ranche- 
Has,  The  war-whoop  resounded  immediately 
in  every  direction ;  and  as  the  Yutas  bear  a  very 
high  character  for  bravery  and  skill,  the  readi- 
ness with  which  they  seemed  to  accept  our 
challenge  began  to  alarm  our  party  considera- 
bly. We  had  defied  them  to  mortal  combat 
merely  by  way  of  bravado,  without  the  least 
expectation  that  they  would  put  themselves 
to  so  much  inconvenience  on  our  account. 
It  was  too  late,  however,  to  back  out  of  the 
icrape. 

No  sooner  had  the  alarm  been  given  than 
^.le  rancherias  of  the  Indians  were  converted 
nto  a  martial  encampment ;  and  while  the 
mounted  warriors  were  exhibiting  their  pre- 


A    DARING   WARRIOR.  303 

liminary  feats  of  horsemanship,  the  squaws 
and  papooses  flew  Uke  scattered  partridges 
to  the  rocks  and  clefts  of  a  contiguous  preci- 
pice. One-third  of  our  party  being  Mexicans, 
the  first  step  of  the  Indians  was  to  proclaim 
a  general  indidto  to  them,  in  hopes  of  reducing 
our  force,  scanty  as  it  was  already.  "My 
Mexican  friends,"  exclaimed  in  good  Span- 
ish, a  young  warrior  who  daringly  rode  up 
within  a  few  rods  of  us,  "  we  don't  wish  to 
hurt  you;  so  leave  those  Americans,  for  we 
intend  to  kill  every  one  of  them''  The  Mexi- 
cans of  our  party  to  whom  this  language  was 
addressed,  being  rancheros  of  some  mettle, 
only  answered,  "  Al  diablo  !  we  have  not  for- 
gotten how  you  treat  us  when  you  catch  us 
alone  :  now  that  we  are  with  Americans  who 
will  defend  their  rights,  expect  ample  retaha- 
tion  for  past  insults."  In  truth,  these  ranche- 
ros seemed  the  most  anxious  to  begin  the 
fight, — a  remarkable  instance  of  the  effects 
of  confidence  in  companions. 

A  crisis  seemed  now  fast  approaching :  two 
swivels  we  had  With  us  were  levelled  and 
primed,  and  the  matches  lighted.  Every  man 
was  at  his  post,  with  his  rifle  ready  for  execu- 
tion, each  anxious  to  do  his  best,  whatever 
might  be  the  result ;  when  the  Indians,  see- 
ing us  determined  to  embrace  the  chances  of 
war,  began  to  open  negotiations.  An  aged 
squaw,  said  to  be  the  mother  of  the  principal 
chief,  rode  up  and  exclaimed,  "  My  sons !  the 
Americans  and  Yutas  have  been  friends,  and 
our  old  men  wish  to  continue  so :  it  is  only  a 


304  THE   JICARILLAS. 

few  impetuous  and  strong-headed  youths  who 
want  to  fight."  The  stolen  horse  having  been 
restored  soon  after  this  harangue,  peace  was 
joyfully  proclaimed  throughout  both  encamp- 
ments, and  the  capitanes  exchanged  ratifica- 
tions by  a  social  snioke. 

The  Uttle  tribe  of  Jicarillas  also'  harbored 
an  enmity  for  the  Americans,  which,  in  1834, 
broke  out  into  a  hostile  rencontre.  They  had 
stolen  some  animals  of  a  gallant  young  back- 
woodsman from  Missouri,  who,  with  a  few 
comrades,  pursued  the  marauders  into  the 
mountains  and  regained  his  property ;  and  a 
fracas  ensuing,  an  Indian  or  two  were  killed. 
A  few  days  afterward  all  their  warriors  visited 
Santa  Fe  in  a  body,  and  demanded  of  the 
authorities  there,  the  delivery  of  the  American 
offenders  to  their  vengeance.  Though  the 
former  showed  quite  a  disposition  to  gratify 
the  savages  as  far  as  practicable,  they  had  not 
helpless  creatures  to  deal  with,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  Indian  prisoners  already  related.  The 
foreigners,  seeing  their  protection  devolved 
upon  themselves,  prepared  for  defence,  when 
the  savages  were  fain  to  depart  in  peace. 


jd!»i  ;■••:**?&-«"•)«■, 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

• 

Incidents  of  a  Return  Trip  from  Santa  Fe — Calibre  of  our  Party 
— Return  Caravans — Remittances — Death  of  Mr.  Langham 
— Burial  in  the  Desert — A  sudden  Attack — Confusion  in  the 
Camp — A  Wolfish  Escort — Scarcity  of  Buffalo — Unprofita- 
ble   Delusion — Arrival — Table   of   Camping   Sites  and  Dis- 

•  tances — Condition  of  the  Town  of  Independence — The  Mor- 
mons— Their  Dishonesty  and  Immorality — Their  high-handed 
Measures,  and  a  Rising  of  the  People — A  fatal  Skirmish — 
'  A  chivalrous  Parade  of  the  Citizens — Expulsion  of  the  Mor- 

T-  mons — The  Meteoric  Shower,  and  Superstition,  etc. — Wan- 
derings and  Improprieties  of  the  'Latter-day  Saints' — Gov. 
Boggs'  Recipe — The  City  of  Nauvoo — Contemplated  Retribu- 
tion of  the  Mormons. 

I  DO  not  propose  to  detain  the  reader  with 
an  account  of  my  journeyings  between  Mexico 
and  the  United  States,  during  the  seven  years 
subsequent  to  my  first  arrival  at  Santa  Fe. 
I  will  here  merely  remark,  that  I  crossed  the 
plains  to  the  United  States  in  the  falls  of  1833 
and  1836,  and  returned  to  Santa  Fe  with 
goods  each  succeeding  spring.  It  was  only 
in  1838,  however,  that  I  eventually  closed  up 
my  affairs  in  Northern  Mexico,  and  prepared 
to  take  my  leave  of  the  countr}'-,  as  I  then 
supposed,  forever.  But  in  this  I  was  mis- 
taken, as  will  appear  in  the  sequel. 

The  most  usual  season  for  the  return  of  the 

26* 


506  RETURN    CARAVANS. 

caravans  to  the  United  States  is  the  autumn, 
and  not  one  has  elapsed  since  the  commence- 
ment of  the  trade  which  has  not  witnessed 
some  departure  from  Santa  Fe  with  that  des- 
tination. They  have  also  crossed  occasion- 
ally in  the  spring,  but  without  any  regularity 
or  frequency,  and  generally  in  very  small  par- 
ties. Even  the  ^  fall  companies,'  in  fact,  are 
small  when  compared  with  the  outward-bound 
caravans ;  for  besides  the  numbers  who  re- 
main permanently  in  the  country,  many  of 
those  who  trade  southward  return  to  the  Uni- 
ted States  via  Matamoros  or  some  other  South- 
ern port  The  return  parties  of  autumn  are 
therefore  comparatively  small, varying  in  num- 
ber from  fifty  to  a  hundred  men.  They  leave 
Santa  Fe  some  four  or  five  weeks  after  their 
arrival — generally  about  the  first  of  Septem- 
ber. In  these  companies  there  are  rarely  over 
thirty  or  forty  wagons ;  for  a  large  portion  of 
those  taken  oat  by  the  annual  caravans  are 
disposed  of  in  the  country. 

Some  of  the  traders  who  go  out  in  the 
spring,  return  the  ensuing  fall,  because  they 
have  the  good  fortune  to  sell  off*  their  stock 
promptly  and  to  advantage :  others  are  com- 
pelled to  return  in  the  fall  to  save  their  credit ; 
nay,  to  preserve  their  homes, which,  especially 
in  the  earlier  periods,  have  sometimes  been 
mortgaged  to  secure  the  payment  of  the  mer* 
chandise  they  carried  out  with  them.  In  such 
cases,  their  goods  were  not  unfrequently  sold 
at  great  sacrifice,  to  avoid  the  penalties  which 
the  breaking  of  their  engagements  at  home 


REMITTANCES.  307 

would  involve,  New  adventurers,  too,  are 
apt  to  become  discouraged  with  an  unantici- 
pated dullness  of  times,  and  not  unfrequently 
sell  off  at  wholesale  for  the  best  price  they 
can  get,  though  often  at  a  serious  loss.  But 
those  who  are  regularly  engaged  in  this  trade 
usually  calculate  upon  employing  a  season — 
perhaps  a  year,  in  closing  an  enterprise — in 
selling  off  their  goods  and  making  their  re- 
turns. 

The  wagons  of  the  return  caravans  are 
generally  but  lightly  laden :  one  to  two  thou- 
sand pounds  constitute  the  regular  return  car- 
go for  a  single  wagon ;  for  not  only  are  the 
teams  unable  to  haul  heavy  loads,  on  account 
of  the  decay  of  pasturage  at  this  season,  but 
the  approaching  winter  compels  the  traders 
to  travel  in  greater  haste ;  so  that  this  trip  is 
usually  made  in  about  forty  days.  The 
amount  of  freight,  too,  from  that  direction  is 
comparatively  small.  The  remittances,  as 
has  already  been  mentioned,  are  chiefly  in  spe- 
cie, or  gold  and  silver  bullion.  The  gold  is 
mostly  dust^  from  the  Placer  or  gold  mine  near 
Santa  Fe :  the  silver  bullion  is  all  from  the 
mines  of  the  South — chiefly  from  those  of 
Chihuahua.  To  these  returns  may  be  added 
a  considerable  number  of  mules  and  asses — 
some  buffalo  rugs,  furs,  and  wool, — which 
last  barely  pays  a  return  freight  for  the  wagons 
that  would  otherwise  be  empty.  Coarse 
Mexican  blankets,  which  may  be  obtained  in 
exchange  for  merchandise,  have  been  sold  in 
small  quantities  to  advantage  on  our  border. 


308  DEATH    OF    MR.    LANGHAM. 

On  the  4th  of  April,  1838,  we  departed  from 
Santa  Fe.  Our  Uttle  party  was  found  to  con- 
sist of  twenty-three  Americans,  with  twelve 
Mexican  servants.  We  had  seven  wagons, 
one  dearborn,  and  two  small  field-pieces,  be- 
sides a  large  assortment  of  small-arms.  The 
principal  proprietors  carried  between  them 
about  $150,000  in  specie  and  bullion,  being 
for  the  most  part  the  proceeds  of  the  previous 
year's  adventure. 

We  moved  on  at  a  brisk  and  joyous  pace 
until  we  reached  Ocate  creek,  a  tributary  of 
the  Colorado,  a  distance  of  a  hundred  and 
thirty  miles  from  Santa  Fe,  where  we  encoun- 
tered a  very  sudden  bereavement  in  the  death 
of  Mr.  Langham,  one  of  our  most  respected 
proprietors.  This  gentleman  was  known  to 
be  in  weak  health,  but  no  fears  were  enter- 
tained for  his  safety.  We  w^ere  all  actively 
engaged  in  assisting  the  more  heavily  la- 
den wagons  over  the  miry  stream,  when  he 
was  seized  with  a  fit  of  apoplexy  and  ex- 
pired instantly.  As  we  had  not  the  means 
of  giving  the  deceased  a  decent  burial,  we 
were  compelled  to  consign  him  to  the  earth 
in  a  shroud  of  blankets.  A  grave  was  ac- 
cordingly dug  on  an  elevated  spot  near  the 
north  bank  of  the  creek,  and  on  the  morning 
of  the  13th,  ere  the  sun  had  risen  in  the  east, 
the  mortal  remains  of  this  most  worthy  man 
and  valued  friend  were  deposited  in  their  last 
abode, — without  a  tomb-stone  to  consecrate 
the  spot,  or  an  epitaph  to  commemorate  his 
virtues.     The  deceased  was  from  St  Louis, 


PAWNEE    ATTACK.  909 

though  he  had  passed  the  last  eleven  years 
of  his  life  in  Santa  Fe,  during  the  whole  of 
which  period  he  had  seen  neither  his  home 
nor  his  relatives. 

The  melancholy  rites  being  concluded,  we 
resumed  our  line  of  march.  We  now  con- 
tinued for  several  days  without  the  occurrence 
of  any  important  accident  or  adventure.  On 
the  19th  we  encamped  in  the  Cimarron  val- 
ley, about  twelve  miles  below  the  Willow  Bar. 
The  very  sight  of  this  desolate  region,  fre- 
quented as  it  is  by  the  most  savage  tribes  of 
Indians,  was  sufficient  to  strike  dismay  into 
the  hearts  of  our  party  ;  but  as  we  had  not  as 
yet  encountered  any  of  them,  we  felt  com- 
paratively at  ease.  Our  mules  and  horses 
were  ^staked'  as  usual  around  the  wagons, 
and  every  man,  except  the  watch,  betook  him- 
self to  his  blanket,  in  anticipation  of  a  good 
nighf  s  rest.  The  hour  of  midnight  had  passed 
away,  and  nothing  had  been  heard  except  the 
tramping  of  the  men  on  guard,  and  the  pe- 
culiar grating  of  the  mules'  teeth,  nibbUng  the 
short  grass  of  the  valley.  Ere  long,  however, 
one  of  our  sentinels  got  a  glimpse  of  some 
object  moving  stealthily  along,  and  as  he  was 
straining  his  eyes  to  ascertain  what  sort  of 
apparition  it  could  be,  a  loud  Indian  yell  sud- 
denly revealed  the  mystery.  This  was  quickly 
followed  by  a  discharge  of  fire-arms,  and  the 
shrill  note  of  the  '  Pawnee  whistle,'  which  at 
once  made  known  the  character  of  our  visit- 
ors. As  usual,  the  utmost  confusion  prevailed 
in  our  camp :  some,  who  had  been  snatched 


310  NO    HARM    DONE. 

from  the  land  of  dreams,  ran  their  heads 
against  the  wagons — others  called  out  for 
their  guns  while  they  had  them  in  their  hands. 
During  the  height  of  the  bustle  and  uproar,  a 
Mexican  servant  was  observed  leaning  with 
his  back  against  a  wagon,  and  his  fusil  ele- 
vated at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees,  cock- 
ing and  puUing  the  trigger  without  ceasing, 
and  exclaiming  at  every  snap,  "  Carajo^  no 
sirve  /" — Curse  it,  it's  good  for  nothing. 

The  firing  still  continued — the  yells  grew 
fiercer  and  more  frequent ;  and  everything 
betokened  the  approach  of  a  terrible  conflict. 
Meanwhile  a  number  of  persons  were  en- 
gaged in  securing  the  mules  and  horses  which 
were  staked  around  the  encampment;  and 
in  a  few  minutes  they  were  all  shut  up  in  the 
corral — a  hundred  head  or  more  in  a  pen 
formed  by  seven  wagons.  The  enemy  failing 
in  their  principal  object — to  frighten  off  our 
stock,  they  soon  began  to  retreat;  and  in  a 
few  minutes  nothing  more  was  to  be  heard 
of  them.  All  that  we  could  discover  the  next 
morning  was,  that  none  of  our  party  had  sus- 
tained any  injury,  and  that  we  had  not  lost  a 
single  animal. 

The  Pawnees  have  been  among  the  most 
formidable  and  treacherous  enemies  of  the 
Santa  Fe  traders.  But  the  former  have  also 
suffered  a  little  in  turn  from  the  caravans.  In 
1832,  a  company  of  traders  were  approached 
by  a  single  Pawnee  chief,  who  commenced  a 
parley  with  them,  when  he  was  shot  down  by 
a  Pueblo  Indian  of  New  Mexico  who  hap 


A    STRANGE    BODY-GUARD.  311 

pened  to  be  with  the  caravan.  Tliough  this 
cruel  act  met  with  the  decided  reprobation  of 
the  traders  generally,  yet  they  were  of  course 
held  responsible  for  it  by  the  Indians. 

On  our  passage  this  time  across  the  *  prairie 
ocean'  which  lay  before  us,  we  ran  no  risk  of 
getting  bewildered  or  lost,  for  there  was  now  a 
plain  wagon  trail  across  the  entire  stretch  of 
our  route,  from  the  Cimarron  to  Arkansas 
river. 

This  track,  which  has  since  remained  per- 
manent, was  made  in  the  year  1834.  Owing 
to  continuous  rains  during  the  passage  of 
the  caravan  of  that  year,  a  plain  trail 
was  then  cut  in  the  softened  turf,  on  the 
'  most  direct  route  across  this  arid  desert,  leav- 
ing the  Arkansas  about  twenty  miles  above 
the  '  Caches.'  This  has  ever  since  been  the 
regular  route  of  the  caravans ;  and  thus  a  re- 
currence of  those  distressing  sufferings  from 
thirst,  so  frequently  experienced  by  early  trav- 
ellers in  that  inhospitable  region,  has  been 
prevented. 

We  forded  the  Arkansas  without  difficulty, 
and  pursued  our  journey  to  the  Missouri  bor- 
der with  comparative'  ease  ;  being  only  now 
and  then  disturbed  at  night  by  the  hideous 
bowlings  of  wolves,  a  pack  of  which  had 
constituted  themselves  into  a  kind  of  *  guard 
of  honor,'  and  followed  in  our  wake  for  several 
hundred  miles — in  fact  to  the  very  border  of 
the  settlements.  They  were  at  first  attracted 
no  doubt  by  the  remains  of  buffalo  which 
were  killed  by  us  upon  the  high  plains,  and 


312  SCARCITY  OF  BUFFALO. 

afterwards  enticed  on  by  an  occasional  fagged 
animal,  which  we  were  compelled  to  leave 
behind,  as  well  as  by  the  bones  and  scraps  of 
food,  which  they  picked  up  about  our  camps. 
Not  a  few  of  them  paid  the  penalty  of  their 
lives  for  their  temerity. 

Had  we  not  fortunately  been  supplied  with 
a  sufficiency  of  meat  and  other  provisions, 
we  might  have  suffered  of  hunger  before 
reaching  the  settlements ;  for  we  saw  no  buf- 
falo after  crossing  the  Arkansas  river.  It  is 
true  that,  owing  to  their  disrelish  for  the  long 
dry  grass  of  the  eastern  prairies,  the  buffalo 
are  rarely  found  so  far  east  in  autumn  as  dur- 
ing the  spring;  yet  I  never  saw  them  so 
scarce  in  this  region  before.  In  fact,  at  all 
seasons,  they  are  usually  very  abundant  as  far 
east  as  our  point  of  leaving  the  Arkansas  river. 

Upon  reaching  the  settlements,  I  had  an 
opportunity  of  experiencing  a  dehision  which 
had  been  the  frequent  subject  of  remark  by 
travellers  on  the  Prairies  before.  Accustomed 
as  we  had  been  for  some  months  to  our  little 
mules,  and  the  equally  small-sized  Mexican 
ponies,  our  sight  became  so  adjusted  to  their 
proportions,  that  when  we  came  to  look  up- 
on the  commonest  hackney  of  our  frontier 
horses,  it  appeared  to  be  almost  a  monster. 
I  have  frequently  heard  exclamations  of  this 
kind  from  the  new  arrivals: — "How  the 
Missourians  have  improved  their  breed  of 
horses!" — "AVhat  a  huge  gelding!" — "Did 
you  ever  see  such  an  animal !"  This  delu- 
sion is  frequently  availed  of  by  the  frontiers- 


TABLE    OF   DISTANCES.  313 

men  to  put  off  their  meanest  horses  to  these 
deluded  travellers  for  the  most  enormous 
prices. 

On  the.  11th  of  May  we  arrived  at  Inde- 
pendence, after  a  propitious  journey  of  only 
thirty-eight  days.^  We  found  the  town  in  a 
thriving  condition,  although  it  had  come  very 
near  being  laid  waste  a  few  years  before  by 
the  Mormons,  who  had  originally  selected  this 
section  of  the  country  for  the  site  of  their 
New  Jerusalem.  In  this  they  certainly  dis- 
played far  more  taste  and  good  sense  than 
they  are  generally  supposed  to  be  endowed 

•  Having  crossed  the  Prairies  between  Independence  and  Santa  F6 
six  times,  I  can  now  present  a  table  of  the  most  notable  camping 
sites,  and  their  respective  intermediate  distances,  with  approximate 
accuracy — which  may  prove  acceptable  to  some  future  travellers. 
The  whole  distance  has  been  variously  estimated  at  from  750  to 
SOO  miles,  yet  I  feel  confident  that  the  aggregate  here  presented  is 
very  neairly  the  true  distance. 

From  Independence  to 

Round  Grove, 

Narrows, 

110- mile  Creek, 

Bridge  Or., 

Big  John  Spring, 
(crossi  ng  se v'l  Crs. ) 

Council  Grove, 

Diamond  Spring, 

Lost  Spring, 

Cottonwood  Cr., 

Turkey  Cr., 

Little  Arkansas, 

Cow  Creek, 

Arkansas  River, 
,  Walnut  Cr.(up  Ark.  r.) 
'  Ash  Creek, 

Pawnee  Fork, 

Coon  Creek, 

Caches, 

Ford  of  Arkansas, 
27 


M. 

^gg. 

35 

30 

65 

30 

95 

8 

103 

40 

143 

2 

145 

15 

160 

15 

175 

12 

187 

25 

212 

17 

229 

20 

249 

16 

265 

8 

273 

19 

292 

6 

298 

33 

331 

36 

367 

20 

387 

li..jicxi 

t 

Libr 

■^gg- 

Sand  Cr.  (leav.  Ark.  r.) 

50 

437 

Cimarron  r.(  Lower  sp.) 

8 

445 

Middle  spr.  (up  Cim.  r.) 

36 

481 

Willow  Bar, 

26 

507 

Upper  Spring, 

Cold  spr.  (leav.Cim.  r.) 

18 

525 

5 

530 

M'Nees's  Cr., 

25 

555 

Rabbit-ear  Cr., 

20 

575 

Round  Mound, 

8 

583 

Rock  Creek, 

8 

591 

Point  of  Rocks, 

19 

610 

Rio  Colorado, 

20 

630 

Ocate, 

6 

636 

Santa  Clara  Spr., 

21 

657 

Rio  Mora, 

22 

679 

Rio  Gallinas  (Vegas), 

20 

699 

Ojo  de  Bernal  (spr.), 

17 

7J6 

San  Miguel, 

6 

722 

Pecos  village, 

23 

755 

Santa  Fe, 

25 

780 

814         THE    MORMONS    AT    INDEPENDENCE. 

with:  for  the  rich  and  beautiful  uplands  in 
the  vicinity  of  Independence  might  well  be 
denominated  the  'garden  spot'  of  the  Far 
West.  Their  principal  motive  for  preferring 
the  border  country,  however,  was  no  doubt  a 
desire  to  be  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  In 
dians,  as  the  reclamation  of  the  '  Lost  tribes  of 
Israel'  was  a  part  of  their  pretended  mission. 
Prior  to  1833,  the  Mormons,  who  were  then 
flocking  in  great  swarms  to  this  favored  region, 
had  made  considerable  purchases  of  lots  and 
tracts  of  land  both  in  the  town  of  Independ- 
ence and  in  the  adjacent  country.  A  general 
depot,  profanely  styled  the  *  Lord's  Store,'  was 
established,  from  which  the  faithful  were  sup- 
pUed  with  merchandise  at  moderate  prices ; 
while  those  who  possessed  any  surplus  of 
property  were  expected  to  deposit  it  in  the 
same,  for  the  benefit  of  the  mass.  The  Mor- 
mons were  at  first  kindly  received  by  the 
good  people  of  the  country,  who  looked  upon 
them  as  a  set  of  harmless  fanatics,  very  sus- 
ceptible of  being  moulded  into  good  and 
honest  citizens.  This  confidence,  however, 
was  not  destined  to  remain  long  in  the  as- 
cendant, for  they  soon  began  to  find  that  the 
corn  in  their  cribs  was  sinking  like  snow  be- 
fore the  sun-rays,  and  that  their  hogs  and  their 
cattle  were  by  same  mysterious  agency  ra- 
pidly disappearing.  The  new-comers  also 
drew  upon  themselves  much  animadversion 
in  consequence  of  the  infmiorahty  of  their 
lives,  and  in  particular  their  disregard  for  the 
sacred  rites  of  marriage. 


THEIR   IMPUDENCE.  315 

Still  they  continued  to  spread  and  multi- 
ply, not  by  conversion  but  by  immigration, 
to  an  alarming  extent ;  and  in  proportion  as 
they  grew  strong  in  numbers,  they  also  be- 
came more  exacting  and  bold  in  their  pre- 
tensions. In  a  little  paper  printed  at  Inde- 
pendence under  their  immediate  auspices, 
everything  was  said  that  could  provoke  hos- 
tihty  between  the  ^saints'  and  their  'worldly' 
neighbors,  until  at  last  they  became  so  em- 
boldened by  impunity,  as  openly  to  boast  of 
their  determination  to  be  the  sole  proprietors 
of  the  '  Land  of  Zion ;'  a  revelation  to  that  ef- 
fect having  been  made  to  their  prophet. 

The  people  now  began  to  perceive,  that,  at 
the  rate  the  intruders  were  increasing,  they 
would  soon  be  able  to  command  a  majority 
of  the  county,  and  consequently  the  entire 
control  of  affairs  would  fall  into  their  hands. 
It  was  evident,  then,  that  one  of  the  two  par- 
ties would  in  the  course  of  time  have  to  aban- 
don the  country ;  for  the  old  settlers  could  not 
think  of  bringing  up  their  families  in  the 
midst  of  such  a  corrupt  state  of  society  as  the 
Mormons  were  establishing.  Still  the  nuisance 
was  endured  very  patiently,  and  without  any 
attempt  at  retaUation,  until  the  *  saints'  actu- 
ally threatened  to  eject  their  opponents  by 
main  force.  This  last  stroke  of  impudence 
at  once  roused  the  latent  spirit  of  the  honest 
backwoodsmen,  some  of  whom  were  of  the 
pioneer  settlers  of  Missouri,  and  had  become 
familiar  with  danger  in  their  terrific  wars  with 
the  savages.      They  were   therefore   by  no 


316  A    MOB FATAL    RENCONTRE. 

means  appropriate  subjects  for  yielding  what 
they  beheved  to  be  their  rights.  Meetings 
were  held  for  the  purpose  of  devising  means 
of  redress,  which  only  tended  to  increase  the 
insolence  of  the  Mormons.  Finally  a  mob 
was  collected,  which  proceeded  at  once  to 
raze  the  obnoxious  printing  estabUshment  to 
the  ground,  and  to  destroy  all  the  materials 
they  could  lay  hands  upon.  One  or  tAvo  of 
the  Mormon  leaders  who  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  people,  were  treated  to  a  clean  suit  of 
'  tar  and  feathers,'  and  otherwise  severely  pun- 
ished. The  ^Prophet  Joseph,'  however,  was 
not  then  in  the  neighborhood.  Having  ob- 
iserved  the  storm-clouds  gathering  apace  in 
the  frontier  horizon,  he  very  wisely  remained 
in  Ohio,  whence  he  issued  his  flaming  man- 
dates. 

These  occurrences  took  place  in  the  month 
of  October,  1833,  and  I  reached  Indepen- 
dence from  Santa  Fe  while  the  excitement 
was  raging  at  its  highest.  The  Mormons 
had  raUied  some  ten  miles  west  of  the  town, 
where  their  strongest  settlements  were  lo- 
cated. A  hostile  encounter  was  hourly  ex- 
pected :  nay,  a  skirmish  actually  took  place 
shortly  after,  in  which  a  respectable  lawyer 
of  Independence,  who  had  been  an  active 
agent  against  the  Mormons,  was  killed.  In 
short,  the  whole  country  was  in  a  state  of 
dreadful  fermentation. 

Early  on  the  morning  after  the  skirmish 
just  referred  to,  a  report  reached  Indepen- 
dence that  the  Mormons  were  marching  in  a 


A    MARTIAL    PARADE.  317 

body  towards  the  town,  with  the  intention  of 
sacking  and  burning  it.  I  had  often  heard 
the  cry  of  "Indians!"  announcing  the  ap- 
proach of  hostile  savages,  but  1  do  not  re- 
member ever  to  have  witnessed  so  much 
consternation  as  prevailed  at  Independence 
on  this  memorable  occasion.  The  note  of 
alarm  was  sounded  far  and  near,  and  armed 
men,  eager  for  the  fray,  were  rushing  in  from 
every  quarter.  Officers  were  summarily  se- 
lected without  deference  to  rank  or  station : 
the  *  spirit-stirring  drum'  and  the  *  ear-pierc- 
ing fife'  made  the  air  resound  with  music; 
and  a  little  army  of  as  brave  and  resolute  a 
set  of  fellows  as  ever  trod  a  field  of  battle, 
was,  in  a  very  short  time,  paraded  through 
the  streets.  Alter  a  few  preliminary  exercises, 
they  started  for  a  certain  point  on  the  road 
where  they  intended  to  await  the  approach 
of  the  Mormons.  The  latter  very  soon  made 
their  appearance,  but,  surprised  at  meeting 
with  so  formidable  a  reception,  they  never 
even  attempted  to  pull  a  trigger,  but  at  once 
surrendered  at  discretion.  They  were  imme- 
diately disarmed,  and  subsequently  released 
upon  condition  of  their  leaving  the  country 
without  delay. 

It  was  very  soon  after  this  affair  that  the 
much  talked  of  phenomenon  of  the  meteoric 
shower  (on  the  night  of  November  12th)  oc- 
curred. This  extraordinary  visitation  did  not 
fail  to  produce  its  effects  upon  the  supersti- 
tious minds  of  a  few  ignorant  people,  who 
began  to  wonder  whether,  after  all,  the  Mor 

27* 


318  MOKMONS    OUSTED    AGAIN. 

mons  might  not  be  ia  the  right ;  and  whether 
this  was  not  a  sign  sent  from  heaven  as  a  re- 
monstrance for  the  injustice  they  had  been 
guilty  of  towards  that  chosen  sect^  Some- 
time afterward,  a  terrible  misfortune  occurred 
which  was  in  no  way  calculated  to  allay  the 
superstitious  fears  of  the  ignorant.  As  some 
eight  or  ten  citizens  were  returning  with  the 
ferry-boat  which  had  crossed  the  last  Mormons 
over  the  Missouri  river,  into  Clay  county,  the 
district  selected  for  their  new  home,  the  craft 
filled  with  water  and  sunk  in  the  middle  of 
the  current ;  by  which  accident  three  or  four 
men  were  drowned  !  It  was  owing  perhaps 
to  the  craziness  of  the  boat,  yet  some  persons 
suspected  the  Mormons  of  having  scuttled  it 
by  secretly  boring  auger-holes  in  the  bottom 
just  before  they  had  left  it. 

After  sojourning  a  few  months  in  Clay  coun- 
ty, to  the  serious  annoyance  of  the  inhabit- 
ants (though,  in  fact,  they  had  been  kindly 
received  at  first),  the  persecuted  '  Latter  day 
Saints'  were  again  compelled  to  shift  their 
quarters  further  off!  They  now  sought  to 
estabUsh  themselves  in  the  new  county  of 
Caldwell,  and  founded  their  town  of  Far 
West,  where  they  lingered  in  comparative 
peace  for  a  few  years.  As  the  county  began 
to  fill  up  with  settlers,  however,  quarrels  re- 

*  In  Northern  Mexico,  as  I  learned  afterwards,  the  credulity  ol 
the  supers  itious  was  still  more  severely  tried  by  this  celestial  phe- 
nomenon. Their  Church  had  been  deprived  of  some  important 
privileges  by  the  Cons:ress  but  a  short  time  before,  and  the  people 
could  not  be  persuaded  but  that  the  meteoric  shower  was  intended 
^  a  curse  upon  the  nation  m  consequence  of  that  sacrilegious  act 


FINAL    EXPULSION    FROM    MISSOURL  319 

peatedly  broke  out,  until  at  last,  in  1838,  they 
found  themselves  again  at  open  war  with  their 
neighbors.  They  appear  to  have  set  the  laws 
of  the  state  at  defiance,  and  to  have  acted  so 
turbulently  throughout,  that  Governor  Boggs 
deemed  it  necessary  to  order  out  a  large  force 
of  state  militia  to  subject  them :  which  was 
easily  accomplished  without  bloodshed.  From 
that  time  the  Mormons  have  harbored  a  mor- 
tal enmity  towards  the  Governor :  and  the  at- 
tempt which  was  afterwards  made  to  assassi- 
nate him  at  Independence,  is  generally  be- 
lieved to  have  been  instigated,  if  not  absolute- 
ly perpetrated,  by  that  deluded  sect. 

Being  once  more  forced  to  emigrate,  they 
passed  into  Illinois,  where  they  founded  the 
famous  *  City  of  Nauvoo.'  It  would  seem  that 
their  reception  from  the  people  of  this  state 
was  even  more  strongly  marked  with  kind- 
ness and  indulgence  than  it  had  been  else- 
where, being  generally  looked  upon  as  the 
victims  of  persecution  on  account  of  their  re- 
ligious belief;  yet  it  appears  that  the  good 
people  of  IlUnois  have  since  become  about  as 
tired  of  them  as  were  any  of  their  former 
neighbors.  It  seems  very  clear  then,  that  fa- 
natical delusion  is  not  the  only  sin  which 
stamps  the  conduct  of  these  people  with  so 
much  obliquity,  or  they  would  certainly  have 
found  permanent  friends  somewhere  ;  where- 
as it  is  well  known  that  a  general  aversion  has 
prevailed  against  them  wherever  they  have 
sojourned. 

Before  concluding  this  chapter,  it  may  be 


il20  THE    TEMPLE    LOT. 

proper  to  remark,  that  the  Mormons  have  hi- 
variably  refused  to  sell  any  of  the  property 
they  had  acquired  in  Missouri,  but  have  on 
the  contrary  expressed  a  firm  determination 
to  reconquer  their  lost  purchases.  Of  these, 
a  large  lot  situated  on  an  elevated  point  at  In- 
dependence, known  as  the  *  Temple  Lot,'  upon 
which  the  '  Temple  of  Zion'  was  to  have  been 
raised, — has  lately  been  '  profaned,'  by  culti- 
vation, having  been  converted  into  a  corn* 
field! 


END  OF  VOL.  L 


.rM%'- 


/-:' 


